Stark Raving Christian

Basically, my body is rebelling. 

Oh well. Tomorrow is a new day. And I’ve got a mentor meeting and I get to make a display and I’m not going too badly. 

Hope you’re all well.

Today I went swimming. I got in the pool. Was there for five minutes. Had an asthma attack. Got hauled out of the water by a lifeguard. Got refunded the rest of my sessions and told not to come back without another doctor’s letter. 

What is my life?

I am in a 5/6 room which is the age I’d prefer… And it’s exactly what I want to do with my life. Its not without its challenges but it’s brilliant.

It’s just great. Praise God. Yes.

Please furnish me with a multitude of James Lester caps and gifs from the previous episode of Primeval in which he is beyond epic and if I didn’t know better I may have actually developed deep and romantic feelings for him because he is freaking fantastic. 

everythingyoucandroponyourfoot:

Except obviously not Lester. He is immortal.

• 7 days down, 8 days to go. (not including weekends)
• Tomorrow I get to be in a 5/6! (that’s 11 and 12 year olds! Not 5 and 6 year olds! I’m excited!)
• I’m teaching all day Thursday, which is exciting. 
• The only thing I need to work on is my tone. Apparently I’m too blunt for 5-6 year olds. Which I knew. Basically, if I was in an older class I’d be without complaint.
• I’m glad I’m in a class I need to work on.
• Saturday should be busy - step brother in law’s birthday then community support meeting to stop a school closure.
• I miss you all. 
• I need to write lesson plans.

• Today was better
• The weekend was wonderful
• I’m still tired all the freaking time, so I’m not online much. 
• I got good marks back today.
• There was blood in the pool so I couldn’t go swimming. 
• I have lesson plans to write. 
• I miss you all. And I pray for you guys. Can’t wait till I have some headspace to dedicate to you all.

dearoldlove:

Falling in love with you was like being attacked by a shark. I didn’t know if I was supposed to stay still or swim away or punch you in the nose.

Things that make me laugh. 

• This glass of wine is absolutely amazing. 
• I’m in less pain than I have been for months. Swimming. Go figure. Praise Jesus! 
• I’m watching season 2 of Castle on box set. 
• I feel good for the first time this week. Good about myself. Good about life. 

• Today was okay. Not good. Not great. Not above average. But it wasn’t terrible.
• I am tired.
• TGIF (I can not remember the last time I said this, probably when I was in high school. Seriously. I have never been more grateful for the weekend). 
• I got to talk to Sarah last night! It was wonderful. She is wonderful. 

• I had a formal complaint given in about me today… just because I’m a student teacher in this kid’s class and the parents are neurotic.
• I didn’t get screamed at as much today.
• Today was successful teaching-wise. 
• I ran my car into the side of the house when I came home because I was too tired to drive properly. 
• I sobbed in the shower for half an hour. 
• I went swimming today. 
• Tomorrow is a new day.

• Today makes me not want to be a teacher. Which is silly. I just got screamed at all day by a kid. Throwing tantrums. Over a long litany of non events. His shoe came off, he couldn’t win at the numbers game, he didn’t have a turn doing something because his guess wasn’t right, he didn’t get to do a puzzle because he didn’t finish his work, he didn’t get to borrow the library book he wanted. Kill me. 
• I ate two chocolate bars.
• I had dinner with Dad and Chris and it was nice. I miss my dad. It’s coming up on one year since the stroke. 
• I can not be a prep teacher. I can not handle it, at all. 
• I want older kids. 

There are only two big cinematic kisses that do that ‘I’m a stupid girl’ thing in my head. Where I go ‘aw’ and everything is wonderful. 

The one at the end of Penelope

The one at the end of Alice

Other than those two, I’d rather have explosions. Or aliens. 

dragons-tongue:

- This someone… she meant a lot to you?

- Yes. Yes, she did.

- What happened?

- I couldn’t give her what she wanted.

- What did she want?

- To be free.

I could cry. 

My printer isn’t working and the office is freezing and I’m shivering so hard it hurts and it’s not working. Which means I can’t do what I want to do. 

It’s not the end of the world. I’m just tired.

Time to re-watch Penelope (thanks Helga, for making it unavoidable) and do some lesson planning :-)

• Parents of prac kids are scary. God forbid we upset the precious little snowflakes when they’re being naughty.
• If I had to teach prep for a year I’d pull my hair out.
• I’m secretly starting to enjoy being so needed and being actually helpful. 
• I want older students though. 
• My body is killing me. No swimming today. Or tomorrow… so back to it on Thursday. 
• I have lesson planning to do tonight. Like a grown up. 
• I’m so freaking tired. And it’s not just sleepy. I’m exhausted. We may not do much ‘activity’ wise, but it’s SO INTENSE. Kids that age are just SO INTENSE. 
• I take too many notes apparently. 
• The staff meeting today scared the crap out of me. Education department cuts, 20 schools in the state closing, at least 10 Launceston schools being asked to ‘federate’ or ‘amalgamate’, class sizes increasing, teacher aides decreasing, less non-teaching senior staff (less behaviour management support)… The principal looked at me and said ‘sorry’. I’m not going to find work in Launceston when I finish my degree by the sound of it. Good thing I like to leave my options open.  

Thor described MODOK as being ‘like a frost giant’s head on an infant’s body’.

Hank is silly.

Wasp and Thor as a team up is funny.

Wonder Man is all angsty. 

And someone keeps whining at Tony Stark about how he cares more about money and profit than people and I’m tempted to sell him out to shut him up. 

Appears not to be my kind of movie… 

Turning it off now. 

• Prac was okay! Other than a child who was literally chucking tantrums all day and I kind of maybe was not as nice to him as I could have been… And the kid who talked about his ghost experience on the holidays… 
• I’m exhausted.
• I went swimming again. The AMC pool is SO CHLORINATED. I feel sick still and am not eating properly but I’m starving. So I had spring rolls for tea. Again. Healthy, Sarai. I’ll go back again tomorrow I think because I know I can’t go Wednesday. But I swam. I didn’t drown. And yeah. 
• It’s cold and rainy. 
• I’m going to go have another shower, finish the dishes and then I’m going to probably put the Bank Job on and do cross stitch. I may throw together a stir fry for tomorrow night’s tea (or at least pre cut the veg) as Mark and I will be ships in the night again. 
• My prac teacher LOVED all my ideas for lesson plans! I’m so stoked.
• I’m really cold. And my back hurts. And I’m about to throw up my dinner. 

Prac, or PE2, or Professional Experience 2, or whatever you call it where you are from, is basically me going into a classroom and pretending I’ve learned something in my degree over the past 1.5 years, for 3 weeks, full time. 

I’m nervous. I’m excited. I loved my last prac. But this time I’m working with five year olds. I’ve just finished all the preparation paperwork for my reflections journal and I’ve decided what I’m going to wear. All that’s left is to PRAY. 

weaponsoftruth:

Today is world refugee day. Click here for information on refugees around the world.

 

In Australia, the debate around asylum seekers and refugees has largely been framed by myths and misconceptions. Community attitudes have been shaped by emphasis and rhetoric around “border protection” concerns, and the idea that asylum seekers are “breaking the rules”.

Despite the rhetoric, the facts are simple;

• Asylum seekers are not breaking the rules - it is legal to seek asylum by boat in Australia (Australian Migration Act 1958)

• Asylum seekers arriving by boat make up less than 2% of Australia’s annual immigration - at current arrival rates (5000 people a year) it would take 20 years to fill the MCG

• Nearly all asylum seekers arriving by boat are genuine refugees fleeing persecution, torture and violence.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights – Article 14

Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.

This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Amnesty International is calling on the Australian Government to;

• Process all refugee claims on the mainland,

• Treat all refugees and asylum seekers equally and fairly - regardless of whether they seek asylum by boat or by plane.

• Reform the immigration detention system in keep with our international obligations (UN Refugee Convention) and our own federal laws (Australian Migration Act).

• End mandatory detention.

Amnesty International has identified that one of the key reasons for this lack of progress – community fear of asylum seeker arrivals - stems from misinformation. Most Australians are simply not informed about who asylum seekers are, why they come here, and how they become refugees. The reasons why some of them arrive by boat is especially misunderstood.Over the past few years, there have been small reforms hinting that Australia was on a path to a considerate and principled approach to refugee policy. However, in 2010, very little has actually changed.

Amnesty International seeks to dispel the myths around asylum seekers by promoting the truth based on facts and research, and sharing the personal stories of asylum seekers who arrived in Australia by boat.

Take action now:

• Demand your MP end indefinite detention.

Rethink Refugees:

• When you think about the boats, think again, feature, 22 November 2010.
• Stopping the spin on ‘the boats’, blog, 6 December 2010.

Further reading:

• Christmas Island proof the whole system is broken, blog, 21 March 2011.
• Refugees’ real stories, video, 22 December 2010.
• An uncertain future: Inside Australia’s detention centres, feature, 1 November 2010.
• Frequently asked questions, feature, 1 November 2011.