I found (and purchased) the cutest pair of Havaianas on Ebay the other day. And I couldn't help but bid on them because my other ones? As lovely as they are, they are brown. And they have no pattern on the sole of the shoe. It's very sad. (The fact that you can't SEE the pattern when you're wearing the thong is not the point, alright? Patterns are lovely.)

So instead of raving about how fantastic they are (and the fact that even though I bought a smaller size, the miracle thongs STILL fit!) I shall instead do a photo montage. Oh, and I refuse to call them flip-flops, the heading just fit nicely, tis all. Thongs all the way, baby.

Some days I feel like I'm not a teacher, I'm a mother.

When I get the tears and the sulks.
When I see the kids all proud of something they've finished.
When I'm telling kids to go get a tissue and blow their noses.
When I'm reminding them to put their hats on.
When I'm handing out bandaids for skinned knees.
When I'm patting the pre-schoolers' backs to get them to have a nap.
When I'm standing outside of the school toilets bellowing at a little boy to hurry up and "Stop playing around in there!"
(And when I get the response; "Sorry I'm slow, I'm doing a poo!" bellowed back at me.)

Just some things to look forward to, eh?

And to finish on a completely opposite note, the teenybopper in me is all hyped up to see 30 Seconds to Mars at Luna Park. Any takers to come with me? Please, please, pleaseeeee.

You'll be pleased to know that other than some random moments when I lose the ability to speak, I have (almost) officially kicked the evil chest infection and virus of doom. It's lovely to be able to turn my head again without being in pain, and breathing with my airways open is always positive!

I'm pleased to present a couple of random (and some disturbing) Google searches that brought visitors to my little spot on the internet over the past few days. Once again, I'm not sure how useful this blog was to the searchers, but it's certainly nice to see some new faces around here. If I was getting as many comments as I got page views, I'd be up there with the A-Listers in no time!

(It's incredible the amount of people I still get visiting here who are searching for "Black Fingernails, Red Wine" Eskimo Joe lyrics. Incredible!)

Onwards with the searches we go!

Aly;

Now this one isn't so unusual. I'd like to think that people who have somehow linked to this blog before, forgot what the actual address was and so went looking for me that way. Makes me feel quite special, actually. I'd like to think I'm one of the only "Aly" out here in blog-world. ! I think I totally need a logo and slogan. Angela, you're a graphics genius, can you help me out here?

Pretty toes with rings;

You guys and your foot fetishes. I mean, I haven't posted about shoes since DECEMBER! It's nearly March! Get with the times. Alright, I do own ONE toe ring which I really love. You can see it here and here.

Bad Report Cards;

Uh-oh. That's no good. What do you mean by bad, though? As in, your CHILD got a bad report card recently? Or perhaps you got one when you were a child? My thoughts are with you. And just for the record, none of the report cards I wrote for my students were "bad", they always tried to stay focused on the positives. (Although some were definitely more positive than others!)

You just want to say to that teacher, 'Throw some D's on that, bitch!';

Don't even ask me what the heck that means, because I'm as clueless as you are. I also may or may not be huddled under a blanket in terror.

Fishnets + Stalking;

Alright, so I may have proclaimed to be a wonderful blog stalker; but I never EVER wear fishnets on the job. Much too contricting, if you ask me.

What happens when you pop an eye sty?;

Ouch. I sympathise with this one. Since I've been wearing contact lenses for years and years, I've been rewarded with plenty of these buggers. Most of them disappear on their own, some need creams to help them disappear, some refuse to budge and need to be cut away. I've had that done, not nice, but I got to wear a funky piratey eye patch for a couple of days afterwards. Yarrrr. But back to the question; if one pops, you just need to make sure it doesn't get infected, keep it clean and covered up. I would never go and pop one for the sake of it, but once I had a full blown sty that popped when I let out a ginormous sneeze. Not pretty.

Demitri Martin live;

I am absolutely NOT running to Google right now to search who this guy is. No way. Of course, I already knew that Demitri Martin is an American comedian. (Snort.) Can't say I've ever seen him live though OR ever mentioned him in a blog post, but now I have. Hooray!

Louise the Elephant;

The most humourous kids song around. Too funny. You should click here to read the lyrics, if you've forgotten them already. Don't give me none of that bunky bunky!

Lala Sweet Red Wine;

Are we talking about the same Lala? The one I'm annoyed I didn't get to stalk on Friday night, but who I am planning on stalking next weekend instead? I do hope there is sweet red wine involved; or perhaps any alcoholic beverages will do.

Crazy excuses fo not taking a test drive of a Ford Fiesta;

Er. Why does one need an excuse NOT to take a test drive? If you don't want to test drive a car, then don't? And what exactly is wrong with the Ford Fiesta? 'll have you know that my Fiesta is DEAD SEXY and I love, love, love it. Your loss, test driving freak.

Crimpy Hairstyles;

Look, I've been to ONE 80's party, alright? And yes, I do own a crimper and plan to use it again one day in the future, but that does not make me an expert. But just because I'm in a good mood, I'll link you to a picture of me with crimpage. Prepare your eyes: it burns!!

Dirty Barefoot Spanking;

I knew there would HAVE to be a feral search in here somewhere. I do believe that I've only ever used the word "spanking" in two posts; this one and this one. And neither of those mentioned being dirty and barefoot; they were talking about my brand SPANKING new car.

Getting Sick Notes;

Hrm; To me, there are two kinds of sick notes. The ones that you have written for you by your doctor, aka medical certificates when you're sick OR the notes that the kidlets are supposed to bring to school if they've had some days off sick. Actually. There are three; When people send you sick notes? As in sick, disgusting? No idea. Please get back to me on this one, I've never actually recieved any sick notes - I've been lucky to mainly receieve shoe gifts in the mail myself.

Chest Infection, Should I go to School?;

If you ask either Dr. Google or my doctor, the answer is NO.

Oompa Loompa Doompity Doo Lyrics;

Oh, oh, I love this song! I've got another puzzle for you.. I can't be bothered typing up the lyrics, but I'll tell you what - if you go in this direction, you might be rewarded.

I am pooped! Maybe every Sunday I should make a list of my Googleages for the past week. Could be fun!

If you ask me, there is nothing better than sitting outside on a humid afternoon and feeling the (albeit still humid) breeze start to whip up and the thunder start rumbling in the distance. Yep, we're going to have another storm roll on in pretty soon; one of my favourite things in the world. Am I strange? Yes, indeed. But I love it when it rains, I love to watch the lightning and I love scary thunder booms.

Yesterday I decided another item that I would love to whack onto my list of things "to do" in the next couple of years; remembering there is already the move/live in England decision, the 50 day Contiki of America decision and the think about getting a mighty big loan for a house decision. This one came to me while I was coming home from dinner last night, hitching a ride in my brother's spiffy new car.

He drives an MX-5 convertible. A bright yellow one. With a soft top. And two seats. Possibly the cutest car in the world. He also drives like a loon, with music blaring out so loudly you can barely hear the car itself, but at least he plays music that I enjoy listening too and besides; that's a story for another day.

(Let's all pretend to ignore the fact that cruising around at night with the top down is possibly not the smartest idea in the world for a girl with a raging chest infection.) (But I'm feeling much better today! Much, much better!)

Anywho. Driving with the top down is just lovely. It was late afternoon on the way to dinner, so the sunnies were on, the hair was whipping around like crazy, was great fun. And then coming home in the darkness, with stars and lights and the night air? Was just amazing.

(We were also stalked by a couple of high-flying bats on the way home, prompting me to begin a rendition of Meatloaf which Ajay promptly drowned out with his music. I also forgot that when cars stop behind you at traffic lights, there is nothing really blocking them from getting a wonderful view of you bopping around in your seat like a loon right in front of them. Oops.)

So, back to my decision - I think my roadtrip around Australia (or maybe just the East coast of Aussie for now) is going to take place in a car that has a convertible roof. Definately a four door, as I must have room for friends to come with me AND for luggage, yes. But I want me a convertible. I also want a lot of truly tragic songs blaring from the stereo which my companions and I will sing to at the top of our lungs as we drive down random highways.

Sigh. I can't wait. At least this sort of roadtrip I can organise to be as long or as short as I want; I could even arrange it in one of my school holidays! Lovely!

Now, to find me some road-trippin' companions..

Hi! How are you today? How are you? Feeling good? How am I?

Well.

(takes deep breath)

I'm feeling rather under the weather myself, I still have all the symptoms from yesterday except that I'm starting to get a horrible cough too and my throat feels like it's practically closed off which makes it a trifle hard to breathe. I also cannot sleep very well lying down and therefore have royally screwed up my sleeping patterns which will make getting up at 6am on Monday next week for work a wee bit difficult. Speaking of work, this is the third day I've had off in one week and I am pissed off because I still have SO much to do and my poor kids! I feel slack. Not that I can do anything about getting rid of the stupid virus/infection faster because those little buggers don't tend to go away easily, but that doesn't stop me from feeling slack. My foreign X-Files DVDs don't play in my player. Roar. I am also pissed off that I miss out on meeting Lala and Mick tonight at the Gaelic Club, because the thought of being crammed into that teeny place with cigarette smoke and scary gropers terrifies me to no end, mainly because of the whole "can barely breathe" thing. And Jason? Probably won't be coming near me with a ten foot pole, stupid contagious virus, you know. So all up? I'M A WEE BIT CRANKY, but thanks for asking!

Now that the whining is out of the way, I feel much better, thanks. (Actually, I sort of don't feel any better, but I have a feeling people are going to start throwing chairs at me if I keep it up, so I'll shut up now.) I do have some good news, in terms of purchases though;

• I got a new phone! And it's a FLIPPY phone! And it's teeny-tiny! And I love it! It looks just like this. It even  has a little goldfish swimming happily around the external screen. Now I just need to find people to CALL and I'll be right! (Thank goodness you can't spread contagious illnesses through the phone.)

• My final Charmed boxset arrived today - now I am the embarrassed proud owner of the complete series. All matching, too! Hooray!

I will be all sunshine and rainbows tomorrow. Promise.

It has become a slightly morbid habit of mine to search for understanding of all things medical, particularly since in the last year I've been whacked with about five different strains of common colds, one chest infection, one kidney infection (damn you, UTI!) and God knows what else I've forgotten since then. (Read: Scatterbrained.)

Nothing wrong with wanting to know what's wrong with you, right?

Having said that though, I really can't stand my doctors surgery. It's a local practice, meaning it's completely full of patients that have gone there since it opened; Even I've gone there since I moved to this suburb, when I was oh? Three years old? The only reason I stay there and don't move to another surgery is because a) I love my lady doctor, who has been "my" doctor since.. well, just read up a sentence or two. And b) Because all of the other doctors around my area scare the crap out of me and just aren't the same. Oh, and c) My doctors surgery is like, 2 minutes down the road by car. That's always handy.

Why do I dislike my GP's office so much? (Wow, writing that reminds me of playing Theme Hospital. Just more evidence of me being the world's largest dork.) Because no matter what time you put your card out, you turn up on time and you STILL have to wait up to an hour. Alternatively, the one time you turn up late, you've missed your appointment and have your card moved to the side, forcing you to wait. Fabulous.

They also make me feel like an idiot; No doubt the receptionists are whispering into their computers when I walk in - "Hey look, there's that girl who's been in for FOUR head colds this year! Haha! What a dork!" (Yes, the world revolves around me, why shouldn't it? Hee.) AND AND AND lastly? Every illness I've had, I've been told to treat with Panadol. PANADOL! No shit! Stuffy nose? Panadol! Can't breathe? Panadol! Chest infection? Panadol! BROKEN LEG WITH BONES PEEKING OUT? Well, you get the gist of things. (Not too sure about the last one, though.) Er, I can self-prescribe myself Panadol, thankyouverymuch. And that would have saved an hour of my life in a waiting room for a five minute doctor visit. Perhaps I should have gone into medicine. I could cope with sitting in an office most of the day, prescribing painkillers. No problem.

(All dramatics aside, I should mention that I've come out of all my illnesses relatively unscathed so far, so they haven't been neglecting me; but what happens if the common cold they label me with is actually something more? Panadol won't fix THAT, baby.)

So what is one to do when they fall ill yet again, and can't bear to go to the doctors for all the afore mentioned reasons? There's only one place to visit.

DR. GOOGLE!

It's a shining beacon in the darkness to all hypochondriacs truth-seekers out there, and is one heck of a lot faster than waiting in the surgery queue.

So, I'm turning to my trusty Dr. Google to diagnose me this time around. Let's see. Must start with the symptoms. They include;

• Swollen glands


• Hurts to move neck


• Sore and red throat


• Puffy eyes


• Heavy feeling in chest


• NO: runny nose, blocked nose, yucky mucus, sneezes.

If I'm feeling lucky, this is the direction I'm pointed in. Er. Dr. Google? Pet-Fix? Oh, silly me, I forgot to include the fact that I am a HUMAN BEING in my symptoms. My bad. Let's try again, shall we?

Ahem. I am a female human being with symptoms including;

• Swollen glands


• Hurts to move neck


• Sore and red throat


• Puffy eyes


• Heavy feeling in chest


• NO: runny nose, blocked nose, yucky mucus, sneezes.

Should I be worried that after reminding Dr. Google that he specialises in human medicine only, that the number one response still leads me to Pet-Fix? Oh dear. Let's try the next one down. Wow! I'm led to a BLOG! A real life BLOG! Which is lovely and all, and I do feel badly that she has had tonsellitis in the past, but where's MY diagnosis? Eep! Next, I'm led to a message board - handy once again, but it's not helping me.

Sigh. I'm feeling a little let down, Dr. Google. Why have you forsaken me? Ha! Now I am led to this site. It says that I have either; strep throat, a common cold, a bacterial throat infection, a viral infection, or glandular fever aka mono. The treatment for all of those? PANADOL Actually, most of them don't have a specific cure. But, But, I need to go to work tomorrow!

Lucky I have booked a doctors appointment in about half an hour, eh? I will report back once I am home to report the diagnosis - ten bucks is betting I have a common cold and to take, well, you should know what. Bah. Update to come.

UPDATE:

After setting a new record for the longest time I've sat in a waiting room reading trashy women's magazines and watching mid-day television (1.5 hours! Oh my!) the verdict is in.

And it does not involve Panadol! Hooray!

I have a chest infection, and basically some sort of virus - I should be coughing my lungs up apparently, but that hasn't set in yet, meaning that'll come soon. Excellent. I'm also contagious enough to be covered from work for today and tomorrow. And I have antibiotics. Yes. No glandular fever, go me. BOO.

UPDATE #2:

I forgot to mention my dear friend Kirby has come down with something too; and we have just discovered that it must be the same thing - our totally random doctors have prescribed us with the exact same antibiotic!

We've caught a goth disease from the concert! Oh Noes!

Fess up - someone got me sick and I'd like to know who, so I can come on over and kick your arse.

ROAR.

You'll be pleased to know that aside from downing Nurofen, Cold & Flu tablets, gargling Betadine (bleh!) and some cough syrup, I was able to sleep a few hours today which made my head feel marginally better. I also decided to have a mad cleaning frenzy; meaning, my room is bloody spotless right about now.

Boo to feeling sick. My glands are not very happy with me, neither is my chest for that matter. But hooray for a germ-free room! Too bad it's owner can't say she's germ-free either..

I sneeze in your general direction, bringer of sickness!

I'm in a place right now where I have lots of things that I think I want. They're all over the place though; some days I want one thing more than anything else, on other days it could be something random and different.

So I have to put it out there to blogland; How do you know when you really want something?

I'm not just talking fleeting wants, like "Hrm, I want those shoes, jeans, concert tickets." I mean big, life-changing wants. As in, "I want to move to England and work and stuff." Compared to the "I want to stay here and buy a house and act all grown up now." And then there's the "I just want to pack up and do my 50 day American trip and throw it all to the wind."

Cough. The latter won't happen for a while, but the thought is still there. I have too many things that I want.

But how do I decide what is most important? How do I know which "want" is the best one? Am feeling a wee bit lost.

What I should be doing right now:

• Attempting to finish Term 1 of my Mathematics Programme.


• Attempting to organise the rest of my Teaching Programme.


• Cleaning my room.. again.


• Remembering to ask Lara for her address to send my parcel.


• Walking another 3kms on my treadmill.

What I am actually doing right now:

• Chewing off my fingernails, one hand at a time.


• Printing off price lists for two different American Contiki tours that I am determined to save up for. LA to New York, then New York BACK to LA, one tour visiting the southern states, the other going through the mid-west and the north-east. Sigh. ($7500 just for both tours, but 50 days.. oh so tempting.)


• Working out how long it will take me to save for the afore-mentioned trips and wondering when I can actually go. (When the heck am I even planning on moving to England for a year, let alone this? What the heck?)


• Staring blankly at my Mathematics Syllabus and swearing at Microsoft Word because it keeps fucking with my tables. Grr.


• Wondering what I am going to wear when I meet Julia this weekend. And we go to another concert! Fwee!

I am apparently very, very good at this crazy little thing called procrastination. Much better than I had though, actually. I do feel I deserve a medal, yes indeedy.

There's a goth over here,
And a goth over there.
And a goth in your ear,
And a goth in your hair.
And a lot of little gothies in the air,
Everywhere!
It's a gothie kind of morning.

-- Lyrics by Jen, Words by Jen AND Aly.

I have not seen so much eyeliner, fishnet stockings, chunky tie-up boots and BLACK clothing in my life. I felt very under-dressed in my jeans and Chucks; perhaps if I'd been wearing a corset I would have fit in better? Ha!

The concert was great. Had good fun with the girls, including driving into the city on a busy Saturday night (eep!) and despite having our view of the concert blocked by the tallest man I have ever seen in my life, the band was great. Shihad/Pacifier opened and they weren't too bad; but Evanescence were fabulous. Amy's voice is just incredible. Love her.

Right now, I am sitting in my PJs at 5.00 in the afternoon, contemplating having a nap. Going to bed at 4am is strange for me; I'm going to pay for it tomorrow morning. Blech. I don't even have school organised yet, I need to stay up REALLY late on Monday night doing work on it, I think. Can't believe tomorrow will bring Week 4 of the term with it. Am so behind!

.. If this song stays in your head forever and ever.

Bonus points if you can name (and remember and PERFORM) all the dance moves afterwards.

I spied;

- The hair brush
- The squeegy flick
- The thrust
- The lawn mower
- And the "check if my penis is still there"



What can I say - I just want to be your loving vender.

Since I have nothing to write about this morning other than what I ate for breakfast and how many loads of washing I've done, I figure I'll keep your attention here by showing you some of my favourite New Zealand places and moments. (I can't believe I haven't really uploaded any pictures yet, how slack am I?)

They'll come soon, I promise.

When something looks too good to be true?

There must be a catch.

Now let me try and re-word that statement;

She who buys el-cheapo Word Puzzle games from Kmart to save a few dollars shall waste an entire hour of teaching time putting alphabet letter stickers onto white blocks.

AN HOUR. For two measly games. Pah.

All I can say is thank goodness the Connect Four games had no freaking letters on them.

After spending the last three hours NOT doing school programming, but instead cleaning my house, I am now off to cook dinner and annoy Jason some more. Until tomorrow; my day of GIRLYNESS (Jen! Julie! Kirby!) as well as a concert, two of my favourite things.

Excuse me while I frolic around my (clean) bedroom.

(And did I mention next weekend is the possible (probable?) stalkerage date where I shall go and visit Lala? Whee! Good times!)

After yesterday's long winded and ultra-rambly post about Valentines Day, Jason and I had a great night out tonight.

We went to my favourite Thai restaurant which was completely empty. So empty that they had the lights off, the music off and the television on playing Australia's favourite soapie (barf) "Home and Away" -- which thankfully they switched off when they realised we were eating in and not taking away. Phew. Just typing "Home and Away" is enough to turn me off my food. Ate my favourite meal of chicken and veggie stirfry with cashew nuts and sweet chili jam, plus a yummy beef and oyster sauce stirfry that Jason ordered. YUM.

And I was surprised with a dozen red roses. I shall take a photograph tomorrow as they really are beautiful. See? Nothing wrong with the 15th of February as opposed to the 14th!

Therefore, the verdict is good. Do you concur?

So. After reading the blogs out there in internet land, I've realised that there are just a couple of categories that people fall into when it comes to Valentines Day.

• You love it. Everything about it. If you're with a partner, you expect the works; flowers, chocolates, engagement rings (ha!) and the whole smush factor. HIT ME CUPID WITH YOUR ARROWS OF LURVE. If you're without a partner, you write love poetry and make eyes at anyone of the opposite sex that happens to walk past you because hello? It's a day of love!

• You really don't think much of it. It's just another day. Who cares, anyway? It's a stupid holiday. It's not even a real holiday. Psh. Whatever.

• You say you really don't think much of it, when in actual fact, you do. Yep. You know you do. In fact, you only say you don't really follow the holiday because you secretly want a bunch of flowers to turn up in your workplace, or find a special note tucked away in a clothes drawer or something else along those lines. Or you know, an engagement ring. (ha!) Or something.

• You despise it. You're anti-Valentines, you think it's stupid to spend money on flowers when the prices hike up for ONE DAY ONLY and if you see another squishy teddy bear, you may barf. Get a room, you stupid love-freaks. Hate! (OR the opposite; You love your significant other every day, why do you need this day alone to say warm and fuzzy things?)

I guess I'd have to say that I'm squished into a couple of the categories, but probably the third one the most. Valentines Day isn't something that I look forward to every year, I've never once had anything delivered to my workplace or a mushy dinner or anything.

(But I can't say I haven't wanted to have that happen.) What? I'm female. Give me some credit.

I have a secret though.

I'm notorious for giving gifts that I would actually like to recieve back myself. Not gifts as in present gifts really, more like the thought behind them. I'll admit it. I've made pretty homemade things with messages. I've brought little cheesy plush toys. I've even delivered a bear, card and balloon on a string to a certain someone's workplace on our first anniversary. I am a dork. And I thought it might be a subtle (?) gesture to my other half, that wow! What a great idea! I should definitely use that sometime! Aly would love it!

I've learned though, in nearly five years, that subtlety needs a good kick in the hiney. It's much easier to just engrave messages onto people's foreheads, backwards of course so they'll see it in the mirror when they shave. Hopefully. Or not.

Where am I going with this?

My Valentines Day was just like any other day. I didn't even talk to Jason. We text messaged a couple of times, and sent a few IM's ("Jason, I lost one of the earrings you gave me, wah! Oh, and Happy Valentines Day.")

I made a song and dance about getting a gift off him this year, because last year he forgot. (Let me just say that again; LAST YEAR HE FORGOT.) But really? I'll be happy just to see him. We're different, we are. We don't fall into a couples category. We're not a new, all-over-each-other couple anymore. (Damn.) We're not engaged or living together. (Damn.) We're definitely not married. (Damn.) What are we? We're just US.

Gifts are lovely, but give me an extra weeknight seeing him and I'm happy. So that's what is happening tomorrow; we're having a less-crowded, belated coupley dinner at my favourite Thai restaurant on the 15th of February. Ha! Take that, Hallmark. (I'm even making my OWN card as usual, so nyer. You and your $8 cards stink.)

If Jason turns up with nothing in his hands, meh. Not that important. I'll just refer on back to dot point number two; "I really don't think much of Valentines Day anyway." (Or do I?)

But he'll still get bonus points if he turns up with a puppy.

Happy Valentines Day, blogging lovelies.

I am going to sort today's post out into categories because I am lazy it looks rather efficient that way.

The Good.

- I walked on the treadmill for 3kms tonight, even though I was (and still am) tired and have other things to do. (Procrastination runs through my veins, baby.)

- Our relieving school counsellor came into my classroom today and observed and interacted with my little girl who has been struggling for three years; and told me I was doing a great job including her in my classroom. Positive!

- Remembering that I have two university degrees (ha!) and that I could still look into school counselling as a career one day in the future.

The Bad.

- My hair. It's horrible and I hate it and wah, wah, wah. Now that the evil layers of death that the stupid hairdresser cut in them just before Christmas have started to grow out, it's just floppy and boofy and BLECH. But I'm in a dilemna? To leave it like that in hopes it'll grow out OR to have the horrible layers re-trimmed and begin the cycle again?

- There were comments made today at school about a teaching degree that "de-values" teachers. Should I mention that this is the postgraduate degree that I went to university for and am now teaching with? Hmph. I would certainly hate to think that I am not as good a teacher as anybody else just because of the name of my degree.

- I have no time to read any of the piles of new(ish) books I have sitting around, because I am too busy (procrastinating about) programming for school.

The Bloody Annoying.

- Driving to work this morning, I brushed past my ear and realised that one of the earrings Jason gave me for Christmas this year was missing. I've hunted around at home and can't find it anywhere and now I feel horrible.

- I got to watch some idiots on the road this afternoon on the way home from work. Let's see if I can do this recap quickly: Car A was driving slowly two cars ahead of me, Car B was directly ahead of me and was tail-gating Car A. Car A starts speeding up, but not fast enough for Car B, who careens into the oncoming traffic lane around Car A and zooms off into the distance. Car A gets cranky and begins to speed up until it is tailgating Car B. Gestures are involved. Both cars pause at a roundabout, where I saw windows being wound down, heard words shouted through windshields and flashing headlights at one another. Car B (still ahead by now!) does a burnout at the roundabout with Car A hooning along behind him. A service station sign looms in the distance; Car A starts making pointing gestures at the service station, Car B continues flicking the bird and driving about 20kms above the speed limit. At this point, both cars accepted the challenge and turned off into the carpark of the service station - and while it would have been fun to watch (eep!) I just kept on heading for home. SERIOUSLY. Why are these idiots on the road at all? It's no WONDER that we are all involved in so many accidents. Bloody annoying indeed.

- My brother is going away on holidays for a week and I am incredibly jealous. Want more holidays. New Zealand feels like a million years ago.

Any good, bad or bloody annoying (GBBloA - haha!) things happen in your corner of the world today? Shove 'em in the comments.

To dear EzyDVD,

You would have to know by now that you are my favourite website that I visit to spend my hard-earned dollars. In fact, you might say I have a wee obsession with purchasing things from you. Particularly television series. Yes, I'm the one who has bought a crapload of them from you. Hi there.

I am also awaiting a couple more orders as we speak - Gilmore Girls Season 5, Supernatural, Dawsons Creek 6. Already paid for, and awaiting them to be in stock. The pile of yet unwatched DVDs is anxious for their arrival. It's like a family around here these days.

I think it's safe to say that I love you. I spend more on you than I do on poor Jason, my beloved partner of four and a half years. You're wonderful. But I have just one complaint that I feel the need to mention.

Stop putting DVDs I want on special.

Dudes! I need to save here. And the temptation is far too great. I think I need a parental lockout on your website. Or at least a frequent shopper's discount. Which may lead to more frequent shopping but you know what? I still love you.

All the best,

Aly.

Yeah, yeah, so little time. You all know the drill.

So why is it on weekends when I need to get my backside into gear and start organising myself, I seem to have the attention span of a five year old?

I choose one day out of my weekent to sit in front of the computer and start thinking about programming for my class; instead, I find any possible way or procrastinating. Washing the dogs? Check. Cleaning out my sock drawer? Check. Thirty loads of washing? Check. Playing Theme Hospital for a couple of hours? Check. (I know. I KNOW.)

I've always known I was a good procrastinator, but this is just ridiculous.

I feel like I need to have a personal "head-smacker" sitting next to me, ready to give me a nice forehead slap everytime I start distracting myself. Any takers?

I gave away two of my babies this morning.

Yes, Sally and Katie have headed off to a brand new home with three (!) children to look after them and pester them and play with them constantly. (And clean their smelly cage.)

'Tis a sad morning for me, though. They did need a new home, I have all the other petlets to look after and truth be told, I just don't have time to give them the attention they need.

So, that is the end my three (not so) blind mice.

First there were three; Happily making a mess of their cage as soon as I cleaned it, giving nose kisses with their whiskers, putting up with a class full of inquisitive kiddies. Then Penny, my favourite of the three, passed away. I cried lots over that little mousey.

Then there were two; Still loved by my kids last year, but not so much by my dad (who couldn't stand the sight/smell of them.)

And now there are none; Sigh.

I shall miss Sally's craziness and constant wheel spinning. (Pah! Silent wheel, my arse!) I shall miss Katie's fat little tush quivering in my hand when I would pick her up. And constant pooping. I shall miss the constant pooping.

I have a secret.

Please don't tell anybody.

I'm having an affair with my blog stats.

There, I said it.

I'm completely and utterly fascinated with how people find my blog, where they came from and which pages they visited while they were here. Apparently I'm a wealth of information; People come to me seeking advice on song lyrics, bondage tips, toe sucking photos and pictures of people vomiting while bungy jumping. Sadly, I don't think they're getting quite what they were looking for when they arrive, but still. I do my best.

It's been a running banter at school about this blog; once my principal found out I was writing one, he asked for the link. Me being a paranoid freak, I declined because some of the crap that I've submitted to the internet? Is just plain embarrassing. Plus, I swear like a sailor in some posts and I'd really like people to keep thinking that I'm a nice person. Yep. Nice.

Ahem, moving right along.

My stats told me how the afore mentioned principal actually did manage to stalk his way through Google and onto my blog. (If you search for "Aly" plus "Blog" plus "Australia", the sucker gives it right away.) Well done Chris, if you're reading!

So, whilst  poring over randomly flicking through some statistic pages yesterday, I found one visitor that seemed to absolutely love what I have to say here. I mean, really. You just have to see for yourself.


Time of Visit: Feb 7 2007 -- 7:34:44 pm
Last Page View: Feb 7 2007 -- 7:34:44 pm
Visit Length: 0 seconds

(Snort.)

I am so witty and entertaining, hee. I amuse people for hours seconds absolutely no time periods what-so-ever.


Oh how I love this blog!

I was reading BD's blog the other day, where he had written a post with dialogue to himself. One of the things that stood out for me, was his talk of eventually submitting some writing of his in hope of publication. I'm all for that, I think he's a fabulous writer (and blogger too!) and I hope he goes far with it. It also got me thinking, though.

One of my dreams when I was younger was to become a writer "when I grew up". (Don't ask me when that was supposed to be, am I all growned up yet? Psh. Hardly.) Since I started reading when I was quite young and continued reading like a crazy person right up to the present, it seems appropriate that I also loved to write. The two go hand in hand, I suppose.

I used to write all the time. Back when I was in school, I remember writing stories in old exercise books. Then we got our early computers here at home and I started banging out even more stories. If only I could find those documents now; I think I'd have a grand old chuckle reading them. But you know, I remember really, really enjoying myself while I was creating them. And I think that's the most important part.

The easiest part for me was introducing the writing. I could write pages getting to know characters, setting up the story, working out the plot. But then, I'd get to the juicy parts and just lose interest. Suffice it to say, I used to have a lot of saved stories which were never completed.

I still love to read. So much that I have a terrible habit of leaving a book half-completed in nearly every room of my house. Drives my mother crazy. But writing? It has come to a crashing halt. I still have so many ideas, so many inspirations, but when it comes down to putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) it just hasn't happened in a long while.

I still want to be a writer "when I grow up". (Preferably in a cottage in Scotland, or somewhere else peaceful and beautiful, like Milford Sound in NZ which is pictured below.) Here's hoping it will actually happen one day. But until then? You're stuck with one heck of a lot of rambling blog entries.

Cheers! (And thanks for sticking around!)

Day one with my class went off without a hitch.

(And also without a clock, but that's another story.)

They are very lovely kidlets.

(Be proud to know I smiled. The. Whole. Damn. Day. So much so that people even commented on me smiling so much.)

At the moment there are only sixteen (!) of them in the classroom, because one is still away on holidays and another is being kept in his usual class. So the room looks really empty when everybody is sitting at their tables. It's really necessary though, some of these kids have a loooong journey ahead of them. And so does their teacher!

I've stayed back late all of this week which is tiring, but it's helped me get my head around things. I think this weekend I'm going to really start with a programme, because I just can't get around to it when I get home from school - I'm bloody buggered! (Just for you, BD, matey.)

The little girl I had last year with severe learning difficulties (but no government funding so no support, typical) is in my class again - and she's gone backwards over the holidays. She cannot write a sentence on her own. When I asked her to just plain tell me a sentence about school so I could write it down FOR her, she stared at me blankly. I then told her a sentence and left out blanks and she couldn't fill them in. Next was a sight word recognition test, where she managed to read three words. I, my, it. Have I mentioned she's repeating Year 2? It's so sad, and really painful.

But then, all of the kids are lovely and I think they're going to try hard this year. They loved the bright classroom (what's not to love? Hee!) and all the struggles aside, it's lovely to have my own class.

Hooray for 2/3S!

Apparently today, my face got the better of me.

I've always been told that what I'm thinking tends to show in my facial expressions - if I'm cheerful it's easy to spot, but also the flip side of that. When I'm cranky, I'm not very subtle about it. It has it's good moments and it's bad, depending on the situation.

With the kidlets last year, they were pretty good at reading me. Some of them were such clever little chooks that they would tell me as they walked in the door whether today would be a happy day or a cranky day. A bit scary, that!

I think I went to school today already in a not-so-cheery state of mind. I knew how much there was still to be done in my classroom before I could get it up to my standards, I knew that we would be in meetings for the day and I knew that the kidlets start tomorrow, so I wouldn't say I was bouncing with joy or anything. I didn't realise quite how grumpy I actually looked though.

Until I got two text messages from other staff members this afternoon, asking me if I was pissed off with them. I had no idea what they were on about; but both of them told me how unapproachable and grouchy I looked in the meetings today, that I wasn't my usual self. I felt quite badly about it, actually.

Hrm. I'm putting it down to nerves about the whole new class that are my responsibility and considering the fact that I didn't have things anywhere near as organised as I would like makes me feel stressed out. Plus, there is this new literacy course that the whole school is doing that seems like an awful lot of work on top of usual programming and organising and oh yes, teaching somewhere in there too! But that's no excuse for being grouchy.

Tomorrow I'm going to smile all day long!

(At least until a certain cherub in my class starts punching people for no reason, in which case I will bring out the bitch and get him under control QUICK SMART. It's my goal to have him a little bit less feral by the end of the year. I will do this if it kills me! Watch out, kiddo.)

But for now, my classroom is pretty much complete. All it needs is some kidlets to mess it up a bit. (Ha. Or not.)

Here's a view of my classroom door and display wall. You can also see my handy-dandy $10 wheely trolley, which makes me feel like a grandma but I still LOVE.


Next up, the storeroom! Not pictured is the other half, which is packed wall to wall full of maths storage stuff until people figure out where it all needs to go. Look! Tidy!


Here is one of my back walls, which looks much nicer in real life. There's also a blurry bookcase and a computer that's only there for display really, until I get my own class one.

Onto the other wall, which is a very pretty colour combination of green and blue. Notice the matching tray labels?

One of my organisation tables, which isn't sorted very well yet. It's behind my teacher's desk, which I'm not showing you because it was covered in crap this afternoon. Just pretend.

The tables, complete with spiffy new pencil holders that I love.


Lastly, my lovely chalkboard. That uses chalk! With dust! Hooray!



So, welcome to my lovely new classroom. Come on in and get ready to learn! Oh, but if you throw your pencil sharpenings on the floor, I may be forced to kill you.

What a day.

I knew today was going to be a busy one, seeing that I was moving into a new classroom and setting things up my way - but I didn't realise quite how difficult it was going to be.

Three words for you: I am knackered.

People changed their minds about which room I was going into; so instead of a partially set up classroom, I ended up in an unused one. Which is fine by me, less stress for the other teachers having to move around for me. Except that this classroom hadn't been used as anything other than a storage space for the past couple of years, so it was filthy!

Let me share some achievements from my day;

• Working up a sweat by 9am.


• Ripping off old wallpaper, and dodging the many spiderwebs, pushpins and random bugs that came flying out of it.


• Dancing around massive cockroaches.


• Visiting the stock room for new wallpaper.


• Three times.


• Using up approximately 500 staples.


• Stepping on approximately 500 staples.


• Getting rid of crappy mismatched furniture in the room.


• Filling up the room with new semi-matching furniture.


• Stinking out the room with Dettol table cleaner.


• Realising I had actually stunk out the entire corridor with Dettol table cleaner.


• Getting the room somewhat decent by 5.30pm before being shooed out of the building by the cleaners.

And now let me share some things I am yet to do;

• Find the key to the storeroom.


• Clean and shift the crap that's in the storeroom.


• Shove my OWN stuff into the storeroom.


• Find the key to the window.


• Figure out how to open the sliding door.


• Finish wall papering the main chalkboard wall.


• Find some damn chalk.


• Lug several loads of teaching crap from my car to the room.


• Organise the tables properly, with pencils.


• Grab some workbook sets for the kids to use.


• Steal bookcovers from Belinda's room.


• Steal trays from everyone else's rooms.


• Stick labels on the furniture and trays.


• Figure out what the hell I am actually going to teach these poor cherubs.

But hey, at least we'll be in a pretty looking classroom, right?

I'll take the camera in tomorrow when I've done some more (so much to do before I get the class on Wednesday) cleaning up. I actually wish I'd thought to take the camera in beforehand, because I think it looks much, much better now. It doesn't have brand new squooshy carpet though, like the last classroom I was in. Bummer.

Oh, the class has changed a bit too. Instead of a 1/2/3 class for kids needing learning support, the lovely executives thought it would be a bit too much putting teeny tiny six year olds in with the bigger kids in grade three - so it's been swapped. It's now a 2/3 cross-stage support class. Still a huge challenge, but just a bit less of a challenge.

(Let's not mention the fact that I somehow managed to get the ONE student I asked not to have in that class added onto my list, alright? Sigh.)

Aside from the three elephants that are line dancing across my temples, I was pretty damn happy with getting as much done today as I did. One lovely teacher helped me with wall papering, which saved me a crapload of time, but for the most part I was on my lonesome. And it still looks good! I can absolutely do this "setting up the room" business. Aly power!

(And I also got a chalkboard once again! Hooray! Now I feel like a real teacher. I love my neat chalkboard handwriting, I cannot write to save my life on a whiteboard.)

So. How was your day?

I've updated this post a great deal since it's conception in 2007, and I think that it's about time I do it again!

[List updated on July 10, 2011]
[List updated on May 21, 2010]



100 Things About Me.

1. I was born on July 31st, 1984. Am a proud late 20-something, and it seems that my quarter life crisis has been averted.. for now.

2. Aly is my nickname. My full name is a hybrid that my parents created when they couldn't decide on a name for me, and it stuck. I don't use it on this blog because it's so unique and easily searchable.

3. I have to spell it out for practically everybody, which is to be expected.

4. I like having an unusual name. It's different. It's a conversation starter.

5. I have one brother, who is three years younger than me. I also now have one brother-in-law, who is five years older than me.

6. I still wish I had a sister. I've always wanted a sister.

7. My brother drives me mad, but in a good way. He's no less cheeky now, but he's growing up into a really great guy.

8. My darling brother is the golden child of the family.

9. I really do love him though. Occasionally he gives good hugs. He's very tall.

10. I grew up in Sydney, in the western suburbs rather than the city itself.

11. Which is fabulous, because other than visiting as a tourist myself? I'm really not too fussed on Sydney. It's gorgeous, but not 'home'.

12. I often feel like I'm a 20-something, going on 40.

13. My partner's name is Jason. Or Jase. Or J. Depends how lazy I am.

14. I used to hate calling him my boyfriend - it made us sound really young.

15. As of 8/8/09, he's no longer my boyfriend. He's my fiancé! As of 11/6/11, he's no longer my fiancé. He's my husband!

16. We have been together since September of 2002 and this is our ninth year together.

17. Few people know how we met. I stand by the fact that it was all to do with fate, let's leave it at that. I tell most people that we met at a party. I recently found out that he actually uses this scenario too, which is pretty funny.

18. If you are nosy like me and want to know more, read back through this blog. I'm sure it's in there somewhere. Or just ask. It's not embarrassing, it's just random.

19. We got married on June 11, 2011. The day was wet and dreary, but I've never felt so much happiness in my entire life. I can't even begin to describe it. I blog about it at www.weddingbee.com/author/jaguar

20. I was vice captain and dux of my high school. What is a dux? A dux is a modern title given to the top academic student in a graduating class of a school, Australia, and similar to the American concept of a valedictorian. Why thankyou, Wikipedia.

21. At university, I was invited into the Golden Key Honours Club.

22. I'm going to type that out again, because I like the way it sounds kind of snotty. Golden Key Honours Club. Hee. Got me a pretty certificate that I do absolutely nothing with.

23. My first bachelors degree was in Psychology. I wanted to run my own clinic, because I love listening to other people and offering advice.

24. In my final year, the legal side of the practice really changed my mind, and I did an about face career-wise. My second degree was in Primary Teaching.

25. I don't think anybody imagined me to be a good teacher. But I loved it.

26. After having a break from teaching while I was in the UK, I'm back at it again in 2011. This year I'm teaching a Year 1/2 composite class.

27. I swore when I was young that I never wanted kids. Teaching changed that for me.

28. I want my own kids now.

29. Seriously, any time now. *kicks PCOS in the balls*

30. The loose "plan" is to be engaged by 25 [check!] married by 27 [check] and have kids soon after. Edit: Jason proposed a week after my 25th birthday, not bad timing-wise, eh? Double edit: We got married in June - a whole month before I turn 27. Mwahaha. Timing. We has it.

31. I am a huge animal lover. As in, crazily huge.

32. In high school, I studied veterinary nursing as my elective. I always wanted to be a vet growing up, but the university entry scores were so high, it made that dream impossible.

33. My old pets, i.e. parents' pets are Rusty the chihuahua, Bailey the beagle cross, and Gage the cockatoo. (RIP to my darling puppy, Max, we miss you every day.)

34. I flew to England on Christmas Day, 2007, to live and work. After five years of dating, Jason and I finally moved in together. We lived in West London, and had a gorgeous first floor flat near Notting Hill and Portobello Road.

35. I only ever planned to stay in the UK for 12 months. That then turned into two years. And then three. We moved back to Sydney at the end of 2010 - making it three years in total.

36. Now that we're back in Australia, we're building our first home! Process is nailbitingly slow and I'm trying to be patient. I can't wait to be out of an apartment and with a backyard so we can adopt two dogs.

37. I have had a list of puppy names picked out for years and years.

38. Jase and I already adopted a kitten together, albeit a little earlier than planned. In May 2008, we brought home a little tabby kitten called Oscar. He's not a kitten anymore and is slightly insane, but we think he's great. He's also slightly tubby and is one of the most chilled out cats you'll ever meet.

39. I am a big, giant dork.

40. I used to wear glasses. At the time, I hated the way I looked in glasses, despite other people telling me they suited me. I wore contacts a lot.

41. On May 11th, 2007 I had Advanced Surface Laser surgery done on both eyes.

42. It was a scary procedure, but it's the best $2000 I've ever spent.

43. I can now wake up in the morning and see things clearly, and quite frankly? It's bloody awesome. I do miss my glasses though..

44. I am a really, really fast reader. As in, I can finish books in half a day if I am enjoying them. I also tend to leave books lying around all over the house, which drives most people crazy.

45. If I'm reading a series and a new book comes out, I refuse to read it straight away. Instead, I force myself to go back to the beginning book and read all the way through before I read the last one. (I did this with the Outlander series and with Harry Potter too. Am strange like that.)

46. I wish that all of my favourite books were turned into movies. Decent versions too, not crappy ones. That would be marvellous.

47. As well as books, I'm a wee bit obsessed with buying television shows on DVD boxsets. I have quite the collection.

48. I lugged the majority of my DVDs over to London with me, because I couldn't bear to leave them behind. I add to my collection all the time. Hey, it saves me money going out and having a life. ;)

49. I love any wedding related show. Unfortunately, we have no cable here (saving money) so the only place I can watch them is online. I thought after the wedding my obsession would die down, but alas - I adore weddings just as much, if not more, now that we are married.

50. I hate idiot drivers, I'm not confident when I'm driving to new places, and getting stuck behind slow people really irritates me. Jase and I share a car to save money (& the environment!)

51. I have a thing with feet. I really dislike them. Feet creep me out. Please keep your feet to yourself. Especially gross feet. Blergh. I don't know what it is about them...

52. If I could have any store to go wild in, I would choose a department store like K-Mart or Target. I think they're fabulous, you can buy anything and everything! I miss Primark and Asda from the UK, and Walmart from the USA. (Don't hate.)

53. I love stationery. There is nothing better than writing with brand new pens, on brand new paper. I love new things. I also spell stationery incorrectly, nearly every time I write it down. It's a terrible habit, I'm trying to get better at it.

54. Moving home to Sydney means I get to see my best friend again, thank goodness. I've always been the kind of girl to keep my good friends close, and I don't do big groups well.

55. I'm a board games nut. And sadly, I can never convince anyone to play with me.

56. This is because I get frustrated and want the games played correctly and er, I also have a tendency to sulk if I lose. And I lose fairly often.

57. The above statement also rings true for ten pin bowling and mini golf.

58. If I had to choose my own best feature, I think I would say my smile. I do kind of like my teeth, even if they are a wee bit yellow. Cheesy smiles are grand!

59. I hate the way I look in practically every picture that is taken.

60. I'm working on the exercising kick, again. I wish I liked to exercise.

61. I hate talking to strangers on the phone, I get really paranoid about my voice.

62. However, send me an email and I'm very hard to shut up.

63. I simply love receiving packages in the mail, makes me smile. (Hint, hint!)

64. I'm absolutely terrible at reading maps. Upside down and all.

65. I also get my left and right directions completely confused.

66. I actually ran into a concrete road island when I was learning to drive, because I turned left when my instructor told me to turn right.

67. Which leads nicely into the fact that I have many, many blonde moments.

68. We love to travel. I've visited Europe, America, Canada, New Zealand, Vanuatu and have big plans to see more one day.

69. The six weeks I spent travelling cross-country in the USA were some of the best times I've ever had. I met two amazing girls there who I cherish.

70. I've always wanted to go on a road trip somewhere. Just me, a friend or two, and the car. One day I'll cross this off my list.

71. My favourite class in high school was Ancient History. It fascinated me, and it still does. I'd love to visit all of those places and explore.

72. I think it helped that I had an awesome teacher who I respected a lot.

73. I love number seven and number three and any numbers they make. That includes this question number. No idea why. They're just pretty numbers.

74. My most valuable asset would be my car, which we own. The other item would be my engagement and wedding rings. Jase done good.

75. If I had to flee out of the house taking just a few things, this is what I would grab: my handbag, laptop and kitty. And Jason too, of course. I'd drag him out.

76. If I was any paler, I would be reflective.

77. I love to dance, even though I am really shy at first. If I'm comfortable with where I am and who I am with, I'll dance for hours. Alcohol helps with this, too.

78. It does take me a very long time to get comfortable though.

79. If I had to choose a favourite actor, it would be Nicolas Cage. I think he's really, really attractive in a strange, strange way. I can't really explain it.

80. Most of my t-shirts are v-necks.

81. They just seem to be the ones that suit my shape the best.

82. And I like my boobs.

83. I used to think I was a fabulous singer, until I taped myself singing and was horrified to find out that I actually suck. As such, I've never ever sung karaoke in public.

84. I still completely adore Sing Star. Am not shy at home.

85. I have the uncanny ability to listen to a song lyric and somehow make it all about me. I'm really big on song lyrics, and my musical tastes are all over the place.

86. The first time I visit a new place, I'll inevitably get lost. Every single time.

87. I am a big sook. I have been known to cry at movies, books, television shows, songs and random advertisements or commercials.

88. I think Love Actually is a brilliant movie.

89. I hate things being messy, and I quite like cleaning.

90. I always invisioned being proposed to in a restaurant - but when the time came, it was SO MUCH BETTER than I ever expected.

91. Jason asked me to marry him in the middle of a surprise trip to Prague. What better way to propose, than on a warm summers evening, overlooking the River & the Castle.

92. My engagement ring is amazing! I had it for less than 24 hours before it was sent off to NYC to be resized at Tiffany & Co (!!) and it was gone for almost three months. I had a cute temporary engagement ring in the interim period, which I now wear proudly on my right hand. I adore my ring - Jason picked it on his own and I couldn't have found a more perfect one if I had tried. My band is matching, and gorgeous.

93. If I don't have my watch on my wrist, I feel naked.

94. I'm not a big coffee drinker. I like tea - chai or plain ol' white tea. Milky, too.

95. My handbag is completely full of crap, but it's all necessary crap.

96. When I get bored, I sign my name all over things.

97. I'd like to learn to speak another language.

98. I have the immune system of a gnat, and get sick countless times a year. I blame it on the kidlets, for making me a walking snot monster.

99. I waste countless hours reading and stalking other blogs. I also have a tendency to play average games on Facebook all the time.

100. If you read this far, feel free to leave me a comment! Am proud. I didn't get bored and wander off! And neither did you - give yourself a pat on the back.

You would think with the amount of waffle entries I've posted here lately (with the exception of yesterday's post, that is) that I would jump at the chance to have a topic to write about. Poor BadgerGirl has been poking me for a while now, because dude! I was tagged! And of course, this excites me to no end, just like when I see a new blogger link me on their page. Am a dork.

So anywho, it's about damned time that I do the current Five Facts meme. Except I should probably worn you that I hate hate hate these bloody things, because I can never think of anything interesting to write about. You really don't want to hear more about my teaching, right? Do you? Hrm. Let's see what I can come up with.

1. I have the weirdest music shuffle on my Ipod right now. Lately, everytime I hear a song being played somewhere (in supermarket isles, in pubs across New Zealand, on other people's Ipods) I go home, shuffle through my music collection and add it right on in. Doesn't matter what kind/style it is, if it gets stuck in my head that means it's in. Newest additions are Natalie Merchant (Carnival), Crazytown (Butterfly) and some more Fleetwood Mac. Am very random.

2. I have wanted a puppy for the last five years. And every year on birthdays, Christmas, special occasions and random days of the week, I bring it up again. And get shot down. I want my own baby so much it hurts. I even have a breeders page bookmarked on my computer so I can stare at all the pictures of the new pups they have. Le sigh.

3. I have much more patience with kids than I do with adults. Stupid people make me very, very irritated.

4. I need hard pillows to sleep on. There are four of them on my bed. I always take the two nicest pillows and give Jason the two soft and smooshy ones. I am a rather selfish cow.

5. I hit 1500 comments on this blog yesterday! The wonderful chook that posted the special comment was none other than the wonderful singing Lindsay! Thankyou, gorgeous!

I think when I hit that whopping 2000th comment I'm going to first of all twirl around ala Maria in the Sound of Music, and then think about registering a domain name. As a present to myself, for rambling on for the last (gasp) 10 months straight. Insane, I tell you.

Thank goodness for weekends; you forget how lovely they are when they just blend in with normal holidays. I'm very thankful for them now, very thankful indeed.

So, some news from the teaching front. The numbers went up at the school, and it was decided to make an extra class. And they asked me to take it!

It was really hard to decide what to do though; because on one hand I'm working with Belinda and have a BEAUTIFUL class of 1/2 kids, and the other two jobs aren't that stressful for me. The downside is that I don't really have my own room or my own programme, so I've been wandering around feeling a wee bit lost. But a new class? Crap. Lots of work, especially since it'll be starting 1.5 weeks behind the rest of the school.

Feeling horrible about deserting Belinda, I decided to take the class though; it's one that will look good for me in the future. I'm now the class teacher of a 1/2/3 Intervention class, for kids of those grades that are struggling with their learning. Hooooly crap.

But since it's the weekend now, I'm going to enjoy relaxing. Or at least try to enjoy relaxing, with the whopping bout of period pain my ovaries are sharing with me right now. And the news that my parents want to sell the house that we've lived in since it was built. And did I mention period pain? I think I need a puppy. That'd make everything lovely right now.

And isn't Valentines Day right around the corner? *bats eyelashes*

That's one rather large salmon, don't you think?

It's awfully uneventful around here lately.

Alright, so it's slightly eventful, but I just can't be bothered to type things up lately. The inspiration will come soon, though.

(Pause.)

I hope. But hey, look! Something shiny! That looks kind of like a photograph! Coming right up!

(I can absolutely distract you with a picture, yup.)

A KIWI!

A completely fake, hugely ginormous (and possibly bird-crapped-on) Kiwi! And then there's sunburned, scruffy, wanting-to-go-home-now ME, complete with thunder thighs and bad hair. I love vacations!

Anyway. I'll stop being boring soon. I will! I just need to stop being so lazy and blah and the rest. But right now? I'm going to listen to 90's music (omg, that Butterfly song by Crazytown, how much do I love it?) and then sleep.

Sleep, glorious, sleep. I wish there was a job that revolved around sleeping. And getting paid for it. 'Twould be even MORE glorious.

do do do do do do

(very tired)

do do do do do do

(don't feel like talking about school anymore)

do do do do do do

(when are holidays again?)

do do do do do do

(going to go and watch ER now)

do do do do do do

(goodnight)