Tuesday 29 March 2011

Bring. It. On.

The horses are drinking!

The fish are biting!

The tickets are SELLING!


(Admittedly not loads, but some.)


YEAHH!



Unfortunately:
- The piano is broken
- The singers are ill
- The lighting is possibly a bit naff
- The venue has been changed (which is actually a good thing, as it's been changed to a more appropriate room, but it does mean the tickets are wrong and we now need a team of ushers to direct people through the winding corridors of school...)


BUT! the art work looks good, and the music is getting there. Refreshments are (hopefully) in order, and people seem (mostly) to be in favour.

Not tomorrow but the next day = Art Unplugged day = Southfield's answer to Later Live.



YEAH MAN!!!

Saturday 26 March 2011

Thursday 24 March 2011

IBS

Yesterday, at half past seven in the evening, I was sitting in the doctor's surgery waiting for my appointment. To look at me, I probably didn't look that ill. I was a bit tired, yes, and possibly a bit hungry-looking, but mostly, I reckon I looked alright.

So, for the past few weeks/months, I've had bouts of crippling pain in my stomach. To give you an idea, it's a bit like when nurses give injections, saying it will be "just a scratch" and it's actually that incomparably sharp pain that REALLY REALLY hurts for a just few seconds, and then leaves you feeling a bit raw for a disproportionate amount of time afterwards. That sort.

It got to the point where I couldn't actually sit properly, because if I let my ribcage drop, it put pressure on the top of my stomach area, and hurt too much. Singing has been a bit of a mission, so the year 8s are learning "leadership skills" and "application of key skills" through leading the warm-ups on my behalf. Good work, year 8. (Although it is a bit weird, hearing all my key phrases coming out of the mouths of small children. It's more telling than a camcorder, honestly.)

So in short, I've been sitting like a hyper-extended prima ballerina, stomach like a sore balloon, trying not to wince every time I lean over to look at a child's piece of work. (They must think I'm really unimpressed with their work at the moment - sorry children).


Anyway, I went to the doctor, and he asked me uncomfortable questions about my toilet habits, then told me to lie on the bed where he uncomfortably asked me to expose my belly, and then proceeded to knead my uncomfortable stomach, inducing not only severe discomfort, but a few shameful tears in the process.

Conclusion is (and just like a good Learning Objective, all sense of mystery was in fact ruined at the outset):
I have IBS. (He thinks.)


BOO!


Possibly stress induced. Possibly poor/irregular diet induced. Possibly lack-of-sleep induced.

Probably all of the above.


So there we are. And I'll leave you with my current favourite verse:

"Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach"
1 Timothy 5:23

Wednesday 23 March 2011

Adele has a lot to learn

"I know it ain't worth giving up your heart"


"Throw your soul through every open door,
Means you end up throwing it at people who probably don't really want it.
Turn my sorrow into treasured gold
...by the end you'll still be sad, but at least you'll be a millionaire"



"Regrets and mistakes, they are life"



"I let it fall, my heart.
And as it fell, you watched it crash to the ground"



"I dared you to let me be your one and only.
You didn't take me up on it."


"Next time I'll be braver. However, no matter how brave I am, I can never actually be my own saviour"



"I guess I have to do this on my own"

Tuesday 22 March 2011

You can lead a horse to water...

But you can't get it to buy tickets.


So, we're organising an acoustic evening at school... and perhaps I'm bad at marketing (I am), or perhaps there hasn't been enough detail sent out (there hasn't), or maybe the staff/students/parents don't like acoustic evenings (you'd think they would). Maybe they don't know what acoustic music is. Or perhaps they do, but they don't want to pay £3.50 to listen to it... or something.

Either way, we have sold a grand total of 0 tickets so far. Which makes me a bit sad.

I think I need to rope in my good-looking year 12 boys to sell the tickets. Two slightly worse-for-wear, feeling-a-bit-ill members of staff sitting in the cold corridor, outside an assistant head's office like naughty teenagers, with a couple of flyers and a bowl of pasta doesn't really seem to do it...

Come on, school. Let's show some interest, please!


Right, tomorrow we shall come up with a magical plan of action. And it will involve students selling tickets. And other students buying them. And all will be well.

Yes.




Also, I accidentally went to school with a face like a year 9 today. Foundation only up to the edges, that didn't really blend with the colour of my neck or scalp, creating a curiously off-peach mask-like effect.

Not ideal.

Saturday 19 March 2011

Lessons from Adele

"I know it ain't easy giving up your heart"


"Throw your soul through every open door,
Count your blessings to find what you look for,
Turn my sorrow into treasured gold
...reap just what you've sown"



"Regrets and mistakes, they are memories made"



"I let it fall, my heart.
And as it fell, you rose to claim it"



"I dare you to let me be your one and only"


"Next time I'll be braver, I'll be my own saviour"



"I can't do this on my own"

Thursday 17 March 2011

Sub-Mission

So, not being in charge of a department has many benefits...

For example, not being Head of Department means I have fewer meetings, less paperwork and hardly any call to use the telephone. For all of these factors, I am honestly grateful. (Except for the meetings - sometimes they can be quite interesting...)

However, working under an authority can also prove quite tricksy sometimes. Especially when there are differences of ideas, mis-(or non-) communications and general personality clashes.

I won't go into detail. Partly because it would be very unprofessional, and partly (mostly) because I live in fear of being discovered.

I will say this, though: I'm a bit fed up of feeling like I'm rubbish at my job. I'm not very good at retaining details, like dates and times, but that's why I write them down. Also, I'm not very good at telepathy, and absorbing unspoken bits of information, but apparently that's essential in my job at the moment. Something to work on, I suppose. Put it on my CPD targets.

Anyway, I have been put in this position, and in this position I will do the best I can.
With the best attitude I can.
With all the patience and professionalism I can muster.

But I'll be honest - sometimes submission is more mission than it is sub.



"Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God"
Romans 13:1

Sunday 13 March 2011