Weathering the Storm

Five days to go before we get a breather!

The past couple of weeks have been intermittently busy, with work and socialising and the occasional visiting of an open home. The next few days are hard slog for us, with all the deadlines for marks and reports and such that happen around this time of year.

Added to all that stress, I'm part of the Prizegiving team at my school, so there are a few dozen extra hours of work that need to be done before Wednesday afternoon. I'm sure we'll get it done somehow, but it's not going to be fun.

I did think this morning about how lovely the next two days would be if I wasn't doing prizegiving work. I'd be able to plan thoughtfully for my seniors' last classes, and actually be there in class the whole time. I'd be able to mark all the extra practice essays that students are giving me during school time, instead of after dinner. I'd be relaxed and upbeat, knowing that I only see my seniors once or twice more this year. Instead, it's rush and hustle and stress and extra meetings and going out to buy prizes after the extra meetings. Not really all that bad, but not as nice as not doing it would be.

It's all just part of the job, and the pay-off is really nice at the awards ceremonies (if all goes well), so I really shouldn't complain ;)

Umm, in other news, ah, I've been working on 2 DVDs - the school productions. A program called "Picture Package" has been a neat thing to get - it makes music videos out of video footage and photos. Quite neat but very addictive.

I've also been killing a lot of plants recently (Mattspeak for gardening). It is satisfying, but really I'd rather do it with a flamethrower and be done with it. I like nice plants, but weeds and spiky plants (like the silly bogan-villia on our deck) really just irritate me. I should develop a thorough understanding of poisons, and get into some chemical warfare, but I'd feel guilty if I accidentally killed any trees or roses or similar acceptable foliage. Maybe when we've got our own place.

Now I must depart and get back to the prizegiving war-room, and sort hundreds of certificates. It's monkey-work, but it's confidential monkey-work, so it has to be done by us. After that it's off to buy prizes, then home to do some marking.

I am totally hanging out for the weekend, with the departure of senior students and the reemergence of breathing space.