Finally...with a sigh of relief comes an update

So without further ado here is another post. I'm tired of all the non-existent emails, imaginary phone calls, and phony txt messages telling me to update my blog. So here we go.

Well...umm...I knit some mittens. That's new.

Alright...that's it...talk to you all again soon!

No...just kidding. Well...I'm almost done my fourth week at Hornby Highschool and all I can say is..."Phew!" It has been a long road to hoe. The school is a low decile institution (which means it gets less money) and it is surrounded by a very working class area. Now don't jump up me with all your class war ideals people...I'm just sayin is all...that the area around it doesn't value education very much and this rubs off on the kids. So the first week and a half were especially rough. I was doing ooddles of lesson planning and it just wasn't working and consequently I was getting all uptight. I have a couple rough classes too. So yeah...I've learned some more classroom management skills that I didn't have before and I've learned that our future is bleak. Or that teaching can't and won't be the only thing in my life. If it was...I'd opt out I think.

So other than that I haven't been up to very much. I've been teaching Monday to Friday from 8 till 3 then working at Science Alive! pretty much every day during the weekend. I haven't been going out much. New Zealand is currently in the grips of Lions tour fever. The British and Irish Lions are the best players in the Northern Hemisphere. They are travelling all over NZ playing our teams. And losing most of the time. But the Lions come with their own fans - the Barmy Army. The Barmy Army make it their deal to get really drunk (we're talkin fall down, breakin limbs drunk) and cheer for their team. Kinda like the Superfans I guess but in red...not yellow and black. So last weekend the Lions were in ChCh for the first test against the All Blacks. The town went haywire - people and camper vans everywhere! I went out Saturday night to watch the game and, long story short, 8 bars later and 10 hours later made it home, a little lighter in the pocket and a little heavier in the gullet. It was my first night out in a while and boy howdy did it feel good to unwind. PS, the Lions lost 21 - 3.

Tomorrow is Friday. And Canada Day. There is a street hockey/Neil Young concert party at a friend's house. I think I'm going to wear my obnoxious Canada tie to work (I call it work but I ain't gettin paid) and to the party. Should be fun. Happy Canada Day everyone!