...and all is well during the blogging hour. Al was asleep on the couch as we watched Chaser / United States of Tara / Movie Show but was rudely awakened when I accidentally knocked over some of the chess pieces I had next to me while I continued my chess addiction on chessmaniac. After my current 16 (?) games remaining, I am going to have to cut it right out as it is soaking up way too much time. I even went to sleep last night dreaming about the chess games which is not at all conducive to sleep... always better to stick to the Oscar winners reciting. Did I mention I've basically memorised all the Oscar winners in the Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Actress categories? Ken H tested me out this afternoon with 1973, but I was equal to the task. He tells me he is memorising Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas - amazing!
Took the morning off to see our new financial planner Troy with Al at I'pilly. He inspires a lot of confidence, being clearly more proactive than most others we've had in the past. He's easier to understand as well! Today was really about sorting out Al's insurance situation and also investing $15000 we didn't realise we had sitting in cash into an ASX200 fund. I reckon it's definitely time for that because the market looks still pretty cheap but rising all the time.
Tomorrow is the good old Thursday 8-straight so I hope all hangs together. Meant to write my RAVE magazine report tonight but it didn't happen - the lure of the chessboard was too strong. It's due Friday so I'd better get my act together on that.
Verity all smiles after Baby Born swimmer started working. Al got some great shots of her in the bath, wearing togs and goggles to add to the occasion.
Had a good chiro visit and soccer practice tonight as well. Team seems keen to get back into the winners' list after their two recent losses. Dec volunteered to be keeper for a half which is probably not so bad, but not great either. We'll see what happens with that. OK, good night from me now.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
Quick chat
Ups and downs - curric chat with consultant went fine - will speak with her again in a couple of weeks. She threw me a little at first by saying her background was in RE and then mentioned she was friends with some of our neighbours!
Other classes OK - 12 Eng Comm was less volatile than usual because I took less crap from them and kept on the backs of the individuals most likely to bludge. About to ban the use of ipods in class altogether - some kids just spend all their class time fooling around with song selection rather than completing their assts.
Tomorrow should be another pleasant day of Edward Scissorhands, 12 Eng Comm again and then double Evan Almighty! Oh, and a silly evacuation drill at the end of p.2. Hope Lizzie is there so I don't have to be a warden, but I think I should be safe.
Verity very upset this afternoon that the Baby Born swimmer doll she has sought for so long managed only about 3 strokes before dying! I'll have another look at it tomorrow.
Off to bed and back to the Book Thief, which still hasn't quite grabbed me yet, but I guess it's early days. Nightie night.
Other classes OK - 12 Eng Comm was less volatile than usual because I took less crap from them and kept on the backs of the individuals most likely to bludge. About to ban the use of ipods in class altogether - some kids just spend all their class time fooling around with song selection rather than completing their assts.
Tomorrow should be another pleasant day of Edward Scissorhands, 12 Eng Comm again and then double Evan Almighty! Oh, and a silly evacuation drill at the end of p.2. Hope Lizzie is there so I don't have to be a warden, but I think I should be safe.
Verity very upset this afternoon that the Baby Born swimmer doll she has sought for so long managed only about 3 strokes before dying! I'll have another look at it tomorrow.
Off to bed and back to the Book Thief, which still hasn't quite grabbed me yet, but I guess it's early days. Nightie night.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Sunday night fever
Sunday school / church not bad. Saw Mum for a while then home. Al not well but Tommy came to take kids to park for a while as payback for looking after their kids yesterday so all good. Watched Eastwood's Gran Tarino in a couple of parts while kids were away - enjoyed it quite a lot, probably more than Million Dollar Baby. He's just a very good director who knows what he's doing and doesn't make things too tricky. I don't know that it took me to any new emotional peaks, but it was good all the same. Catholic priest figure doesn't come out of it too badly either.
Still a bit worried about the curric review meeting tomorrow, but I'll have a decent half hour at least to get my act together, and it doesn't look like I'm going first so hopefully someone else will have softened them up. I suspect that RAVE is an area I will be able to make look good in terms of what we're doing, but of course I'm much more concerned about whether these consultants are looking at the overall WMAC strategy of having a sense of community and common purpose driving all we do etc. Hope I can express that in reasonable terms to them.
Anyway, better head to bed so I'm at least a little fresh tomorrow. Playing a fair amount of online chess at present - probably too much so better cool off over next few days. Chatted a bit with some of my chessmaniac team-mates tonight, including Martin from France. Weird discussion about Men at Work and Peter Garrett - amazing which Australians are known overseas!
Reading Zusak's The Book Thief - still not sure what I make of it so far. Ciao for now.
Still a bit worried about the curric review meeting tomorrow, but I'll have a decent half hour at least to get my act together, and it doesn't look like I'm going first so hopefully someone else will have softened them up. I suspect that RAVE is an area I will be able to make look good in terms of what we're doing, but of course I'm much more concerned about whether these consultants are looking at the overall WMAC strategy of having a sense of community and common purpose driving all we do etc. Hope I can express that in reasonable terms to them.
Anyway, better head to bed so I'm at least a little fresh tomorrow. Playing a fair amount of online chess at present - probably too much so better cool off over next few days. Chatted a bit with some of my chessmaniac team-mates tonight, including Martin from France. Weird discussion about Men at Work and Peter Garrett - amazing which Australians are known overseas!
Reading Zusak's The Book Thief - still not sure what I make of it so far. Ciao for now.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Anger and other problems
Well, a funny old day today. Kids slept over at Mum's so a very quiet start to a Saturday. Usual enjoyment of Times cryptic crosswords briefly before picking them up. Dec's soccer game was harsh for them - another loss to a strong team they hadn't played before. They haven't really regained their spark from before the holidays, so I hope it's not all downhill from here. Final score 8-4 I think. Dec had his moments, including putting his head on a corner which would have been spectacular if it had gone in. Not to worry.
After lunch, Dec had to a cub event which is when the rot set in. Al gave me money which I thought was to pay for entry at the event if necessary, but it turned out I was meant to give it to him for food and drinks if he wanted any during the afternoon. I felt stupid and angry that I either hadn't heard this or hadn't understood it and it just triggered a rage in me. I went downstairs and hit a few walls and things, luckily not leaving any holes (as has happened a couple of times before, I must admit). Then I calmed down enough to put up a new smoke detector in the laundry and went for a long trip to the hardware shop for another shower head (after the last one broke off and I then busted it properly while trying to repair it - another source of frustration) and a mop-head thingo to reoil the pool deck. By the time I got home, it was too dark to get underway with the pool deck, so maybe we can squeeze it in tomorrow. I sure hope there aren't any other trips tomorrow I don't know about.
Other issues: an unexpectedly sudden curriculum meeting with outside consultants at school on Monday. Concerned that I haven't brought home a copy of the College Strategic Plan to help me prepare for it but then again there was no reference to that in the ridiculously brief prep notes I was sent by the boss' PA. They want to see a sample assessment item (not applicable in RAVE) and evidence that my subject is innovative and prepares kids for the future. Well!
I'm thinking I'll give them the Year 10 unit from last term on Environmental Values and Ethics, or else one of my Yr 10 Powerpoints from this term which have Youtube links etc.
What I'd really like to see is these consultants looking at the whole school's overall curriculum strategy. At 16 years old now, we really need to decide what kind of school we want to be. Can we market ourselves as a school for high academic achievers? With only 1 -3 OP1s each year, that's going to be pretty demanding. Our central mission statement and vision must be clear to all - and I don't think it is at present. I'd argue that our Anglican nature and values can be the core of what we do. We should be able to say that if you are an OP1 level student, you will more than likely get an OP1 at our school; if you want an apprenticeship or traineeship, you can do that here (and since we're apparently the biggest provider of these in the state, that's an easier claim to sustain); but that overall, our school teaches kids to care about others. I believe that getting a reputation for being a school which produces great citizens who are able to change the world in positive ways will actually solve a lot of our problems. More pragmatically, we certainly need to do a better job of marketing our low fees and 'all inclusive' philosophy - the value for money at our place is incredible. You'll get a very good private education and Yr 12 still costs less than $10 000, probably more like $8000 - $9000, I think, with huge savings when you consider the inclusion of textbooks, camps, a ski-trip, excursions, etc, etc. Why aren't we marketing that on every billboard?
Anyway, in other matters: fantastic Founders Day dinner last night in the St Pauls hall - MC was the mayor, Paul Pisasale, who must have a personal approvhatred al rating higher than 80% - he's incredible. Guest speaker was former rugby legend Tim Horan - despite my long-held loathing for rugby, I'd drunk just enough to have my photo taken with him, along with other colleagues - surreal. He spoke well enough, but it was basically 20 minutes of chat about places he'd been, things he'd seen, people he'd met (e.g. the Queen; Nelson Mandela) and of course some amusing tales from the rugby field (including the best one which included his dropping of the F-word but I doubt anyone was offended). Today I found myself wondering why my mate Dave couldn't do the same thing for a living, after his retirement from the Ten Tenors - he could prepare a 20 minute monologue about amusing and incredible places he's been and of course, add in 2 or 3 songs along the way. Horan's chat began with a 3 minute video presentation featuring him scoring try after try; Dave's could do likewise with event after event. I'm convinced it could work - I've even come up with the name "Tenor Eleven" (geddit? geddit?)
Must chat to Dave soon - thought his 1st child was due in a week or two, but it's actually November.
OK, last thing - fantastic Founders Day/Chaplain Commissioning service on Friday morning. I had a few little roles to play. All went well except choir got missed in the program when they were supposed to perform their own featured item - poor old musos! Everything else was great and I continue to be extremely optimistic about Lizzie's prospects at school. Fingers crossed!
After lunch, Dec had to a cub event which is when the rot set in. Al gave me money which I thought was to pay for entry at the event if necessary, but it turned out I was meant to give it to him for food and drinks if he wanted any during the afternoon. I felt stupid and angry that I either hadn't heard this or hadn't understood it and it just triggered a rage in me. I went downstairs and hit a few walls and things, luckily not leaving any holes (as has happened a couple of times before, I must admit). Then I calmed down enough to put up a new smoke detector in the laundry and went for a long trip to the hardware shop for another shower head (after the last one broke off and I then busted it properly while trying to repair it - another source of frustration) and a mop-head thingo to reoil the pool deck. By the time I got home, it was too dark to get underway with the pool deck, so maybe we can squeeze it in tomorrow. I sure hope there aren't any other trips tomorrow I don't know about.
Other issues: an unexpectedly sudden curriculum meeting with outside consultants at school on Monday. Concerned that I haven't brought home a copy of the College Strategic Plan to help me prepare for it but then again there was no reference to that in the ridiculously brief prep notes I was sent by the boss' PA. They want to see a sample assessment item (not applicable in RAVE) and evidence that my subject is innovative and prepares kids for the future. Well!
I'm thinking I'll give them the Year 10 unit from last term on Environmental Values and Ethics, or else one of my Yr 10 Powerpoints from this term which have Youtube links etc.
What I'd really like to see is these consultants looking at the whole school's overall curriculum strategy. At 16 years old now, we really need to decide what kind of school we want to be. Can we market ourselves as a school for high academic achievers? With only 1 -3 OP1s each year, that's going to be pretty demanding. Our central mission statement and vision must be clear to all - and I don't think it is at present. I'd argue that our Anglican nature and values can be the core of what we do. We should be able to say that if you are an OP1 level student, you will more than likely get an OP1 at our school; if you want an apprenticeship or traineeship, you can do that here (and since we're apparently the biggest provider of these in the state, that's an easier claim to sustain); but that overall, our school teaches kids to care about others. I believe that getting a reputation for being a school which produces great citizens who are able to change the world in positive ways will actually solve a lot of our problems. More pragmatically, we certainly need to do a better job of marketing our low fees and 'all inclusive' philosophy - the value for money at our place is incredible. You'll get a very good private education and Yr 12 still costs less than $10 000, probably more like $8000 - $9000, I think, with huge savings when you consider the inclusion of textbooks, camps, a ski-trip, excursions, etc, etc. Why aren't we marketing that on every billboard?
Anyway, in other matters: fantastic Founders Day dinner last night in the St Pauls hall - MC was the mayor, Paul Pisasale, who must have a personal approvhatred al rating higher than 80% - he's incredible. Guest speaker was former rugby legend Tim Horan - despite my long-held loathing for rugby, I'd drunk just enough to have my photo taken with him, along with other colleagues - surreal. He spoke well enough, but it was basically 20 minutes of chat about places he'd been, things he'd seen, people he'd met (e.g. the Queen; Nelson Mandela) and of course some amusing tales from the rugby field (including the best one which included his dropping of the F-word but I doubt anyone was offended). Today I found myself wondering why my mate Dave couldn't do the same thing for a living, after his retirement from the Ten Tenors - he could prepare a 20 minute monologue about amusing and incredible places he's been and of course, add in 2 or 3 songs along the way. Horan's chat began with a 3 minute video presentation featuring him scoring try after try; Dave's could do likewise with event after event. I'm convinced it could work - I've even come up with the name "Tenor Eleven" (geddit? geddit?)
Must chat to Dave soon - thought his 1st child was due in a week or two, but it's actually November.
OK, last thing - fantastic Founders Day/Chaplain Commissioning service on Friday morning. I had a few little roles to play. All went well except choir got missed in the program when they were supposed to perform their own featured item - poor old musos! Everything else was great and I continue to be extremely optimistic about Lizzie's prospects at school. Fingers crossed!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Aths day 2009
Well, I haven't found out for sure but I'd be very confident indeed that my House won the Interhouse aths today, and Facebook tells me that we won the House Spirit trophy as well - good stuff (even though I'm not sure it was really deserved - but given all the rip-offs of the past, I'm not complaining). The win was based around kids deciding to turn up and compete (lots of empty spots from the other houses) and gutsy work by our usual suspects. Very few superstars who won lots, though Megan P is one for sure, as trained by Nigel B. A win for the good guys!
Also very pleasing was my trip in to see my orthopod godfather to be told my knee should be fine within 2 wks. He gave me some great colour photos taken inside my knee during the operation. What's pleasing is how bad the torn medial meniscus looks - it just reassures me that the operation was really necessary. Still don't know what the final damage to my wallet will be - an invoice is coming - but I'm guessing it could be up to $800, and that's after the private health insurance has reduced the cost. Oh well, I guess the upside is having a knee that works and will let me get back to the gym soon (badly needed in terms of my shape and mental outlook at present) and hopefully will last me for decades to come.
Al had a job interview today at a company on pretty much the other side of the city, to be a part-time HR manager for them. Went well, but as she says, it comes down to whether there was someone even better who applied. If she gets it, it will be good financially - it's $50000 pa for 2.5 days a week, not be sneezedat. The impact on our family's routine will be pretty dramatic - I'll need to be much more involved in getting kids ready for school, and they may have to go to before-school care at least one day per week, etc. As Al says, Verity won't mind that because she'll get to watch TV in the morning which we don't allow now. But we'll worry about those things once we know if Al has an offer.
Found my phone in my office this morning, as expected - thanks God!
All in all, not a bad day - teaching 8 straight tomorrow, so time to split. I'll hold off on a chat about the novel Breath until a better time pops up.
Also very pleasing was my trip in to see my orthopod godfather to be told my knee should be fine within 2 wks. He gave me some great colour photos taken inside my knee during the operation. What's pleasing is how bad the torn medial meniscus looks - it just reassures me that the operation was really necessary. Still don't know what the final damage to my wallet will be - an invoice is coming - but I'm guessing it could be up to $800, and that's after the private health insurance has reduced the cost. Oh well, I guess the upside is having a knee that works and will let me get back to the gym soon (badly needed in terms of my shape and mental outlook at present) and hopefully will last me for decades to come.
Al had a job interview today at a company on pretty much the other side of the city, to be a part-time HR manager for them. Went well, but as she says, it comes down to whether there was someone even better who applied. If she gets it, it will be good financially - it's $50000 pa for 2.5 days a week, not be sneezedat. The impact on our family's routine will be pretty dramatic - I'll need to be much more involved in getting kids ready for school, and they may have to go to before-school care at least one day per week, etc. As Al says, Verity won't mind that because she'll get to watch TV in the morning which we don't allow now. But we'll worry about those things once we know if Al has an offer.
Found my phone in my office this morning, as expected - thanks God!
All in all, not a bad day - teaching 8 straight tomorrow, so time to split. I'll hold off on a chat about the novel Breath until a better time pops up.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Social action
Tuesday night: Interhouse Aths tomorrow - I have to be a track judge all day which I haven't done in more than a decade. Not sure if the organisers knew I had knee surgery just two weeks ago, but I decided not to wimp out. Still, hope it doesn't get too sore. Going back to see my Godfather orthopod straight after school, so I guess any tenderness will be easy to spot after a day of standing around outside.
Today was very frustrating - kept losing things, including my phone which I just hope is somewhere in my office. Worst case, it's fallen out of my pocket and could be anywhere. Next worse case scenario, some kid has swiped it, though I think that's pretty unlikely (I hope).
Last Sunday night was interesting. Church had organised for a roster of people to go to a local supermarket near the uni and stand outside (looking like we were kind of picketing it, though we obviously weren't), handing out little strips of paper asking people to buy an extra non-perishable product to give us so we could give it to the poorer folks in another parish. If they came back and gave us something, we gave them a thankyou card with parish contact details on the back. There was no picking the people who chose to participate! International uni students, lefty looking kids, older wealthy-looking people, etc etc. Apparently, there wasn't much cut-price soup left on the shelves, thanks to us! I was there for the last two hours before closing, and it was actually a lot of fun in a strange way. I was there with "elder" Ruth K and a bloke I've never met called Murray. He's been going to evening services for a long time, but as a morning service person, I'd never met him - a bit weird. He's into aviation and conservative politics, as it turns out; at one point, he introduced me to the local LNP member who turned up in his shorts etc.
Murray was replaced by Natalie B, a charming architect who's also apparently a regular at evening services who I'm also certain I've never seen before. Standing next to her passed the time very pleasantly indeed. Lots of parishioners were on the roster at various stages, but (and not trying to be too self-righteous here) I'm rather surprised there weren't a heck of a lot more people on board. As soon as I heard the concept, I signed up straight away. If Anglicans can't even go and stand in the street and encourage people to help out the needy, then what can we do? I'm delighted to report we collected (over Saturday and Sunday together) a huge amount of groceries. Don't know how often we can repeat the exercise, but it would have to be tempting to go back sometime and see what else we can pick up.
OK, it's 10pm and I vowed I would hit bed at this hour after a day of being tired and out of sorts, so ciao for now. Finished Breath last night but will review tomorrow.
Today was very frustrating - kept losing things, including my phone which I just hope is somewhere in my office. Worst case, it's fallen out of my pocket and could be anywhere. Next worse case scenario, some kid has swiped it, though I think that's pretty unlikely (I hope).
Last Sunday night was interesting. Church had organised for a roster of people to go to a local supermarket near the uni and stand outside (looking like we were kind of picketing it, though we obviously weren't), handing out little strips of paper asking people to buy an extra non-perishable product to give us so we could give it to the poorer folks in another parish. If they came back and gave us something, we gave them a thankyou card with parish contact details on the back. There was no picking the people who chose to participate! International uni students, lefty looking kids, older wealthy-looking people, etc etc. Apparently, there wasn't much cut-price soup left on the shelves, thanks to us! I was there for the last two hours before closing, and it was actually a lot of fun in a strange way. I was there with "elder" Ruth K and a bloke I've never met called Murray. He's been going to evening services for a long time, but as a morning service person, I'd never met him - a bit weird. He's into aviation and conservative politics, as it turns out; at one point, he introduced me to the local LNP member who turned up in his shorts etc.
Murray was replaced by Natalie B, a charming architect who's also apparently a regular at evening services who I'm also certain I've never seen before. Standing next to her passed the time very pleasantly indeed. Lots of parishioners were on the roster at various stages, but (and not trying to be too self-righteous here) I'm rather surprised there weren't a heck of a lot more people on board. As soon as I heard the concept, I signed up straight away. If Anglicans can't even go and stand in the street and encourage people to help out the needy, then what can we do? I'm delighted to report we collected (over Saturday and Sunday together) a huge amount of groceries. Don't know how often we can repeat the exercise, but it would have to be tempting to go back sometime and see what else we can pick up.
OK, it's 10pm and I vowed I would hit bed at this hour after a day of being tired and out of sorts, so ciao for now. Finished Breath last night but will review tomorrow.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
The weekend comes...
At last: a big sleep in today as planned followed by another one this afternoon - it's a good investment of time as I would otherwise go crazy. Yummy dinner and at last a chat with Al about her 40th. If she is working (i.e. part time away from home), it means we would have the money to pay for quite a few of our projects and plans which at the moment are up in the air e.g. new kitchen, long-service trip to New York, and... a trip to Melbourne for her 40th. If she isn't, I reckon we could still afford it, but I guess it's all about opportunity cost, etc. She thinks her buddies may well organise their own parties and events for her, which obviously makes my job easier though not really what I had in mind.
Watching Foyle's War now - what a great show. Sat in front of the Bill but didn't take a lot in. A regular minor character recently has been played by an actress I now know to be Naomi Ryan - wow, she's stunning. She was severely bashed in the episode tonight, but hopefully she'll stick around for the sake of me and other fans!
Haven't played any bass guitar now for weeks, and that's annoying. Need to take it back to see if I can lower the action a little, but I might see if I can fit in a short session tomorrow.
Dec's soccer team got hammered today - 10-3 down, with a couple of guys away and up against the other really good team in their comp. I'm pleased because I'm hoping it will make the players listen more carefully to the coaches at training, rather than running around doing their own thing. Dec was keeper in the 2nd half and did a pretty good job. There's no doubt in my mind I would have been no better and probably much worse at his age, and I told him so. I didn't get any soccer skills together until sometime in Yr 7 or later, though I think I may have been a little faster than most. Anyway, at least the team weren't crying or bitching and moaning after their loss like some teams I saw in my younger years.
Verity told me today her ballet teacher gave her a high-five for knowing what a jete is! Excellent. She demonstrated a couple back and forth in the kitchen.
Big Sunday tomorrow - Sunday School resumes; then video recording Bob and Jean; then doing some social service work for Church; then dinner at Mum's. Maybe I should have done more schoolwork today after all.
Rev Greg rang tonight to find out how to download Youtube clips for use in a sermon tomorrow. Terrific stuff, and certainly the way of the future. Though our church is excellent in many ways, there are times a data projector would add another dimension, I feel. I suspect it won't happen for many years, though.
Time for bed and to see if I can finish Breath, which would be good. Still gripping and just hope it ends as well as it started. Good night and good luck.
Watching Foyle's War now - what a great show. Sat in front of the Bill but didn't take a lot in. A regular minor character recently has been played by an actress I now know to be Naomi Ryan - wow, she's stunning. She was severely bashed in the episode tonight, but hopefully she'll stick around for the sake of me and other fans!
Haven't played any bass guitar now for weeks, and that's annoying. Need to take it back to see if I can lower the action a little, but I might see if I can fit in a short session tomorrow.
Dec's soccer team got hammered today - 10-3 down, with a couple of guys away and up against the other really good team in their comp. I'm pleased because I'm hoping it will make the players listen more carefully to the coaches at training, rather than running around doing their own thing. Dec was keeper in the 2nd half and did a pretty good job. There's no doubt in my mind I would have been no better and probably much worse at his age, and I told him so. I didn't get any soccer skills together until sometime in Yr 7 or later, though I think I may have been a little faster than most. Anyway, at least the team weren't crying or bitching and moaning after their loss like some teams I saw in my younger years.
Verity told me today her ballet teacher gave her a high-five for knowing what a jete is! Excellent. She demonstrated a couple back and forth in the kitchen.
Big Sunday tomorrow - Sunday School resumes; then video recording Bob and Jean; then doing some social service work for Church; then dinner at Mum's. Maybe I should have done more schoolwork today after all.
Rev Greg rang tonight to find out how to download Youtube clips for use in a sermon tomorrow. Terrific stuff, and certainly the way of the future. Though our church is excellent in many ways, there are times a data projector would add another dimension, I feel. I suspect it won't happen for many years, though.
Time for bed and to see if I can finish Breath, which would be good. Still gripping and just hope it ends as well as it started. Good night and good luck.
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