Louis Sachar & school counsellors

I read Holes at school during reading class a few weeks ago and really enjoyed it. I watched the video last Friday night and it was great. I am going to use this book and film with students as I feel there are a lot of good things to be learnt from it. I found another book There's a Boy in the Girls Bathroom by Sachar. It gave me a whole new appreciation for the counsellor at our school. I don't know how often I have heard or said the comment that the counsellor is not doing enough to help. I read that book and it made me appreciate the kind of long term effort it can take with people for counsellors. It is an important role and to expect instant results would be silly. It is a great book, was an enjoyable and mostly very light story. I also think there is something in that story for everyone. I realised in reflection on my own behaviour how it is easy to become disliked when you are angry and sad. You push others away and this can really happen very quickly that you end up with few people who want to be around you. It is not some kind of huge personality disorder, that needs to be untangled. It was a great read.

This is so cool

I really can't believe I have done this. It wasn't that hard really. I like writing. The 'novel' is lacking a great storyline and quite a few other features that would make it enjoyable for other people to read to be frank with myself as well as you, but I learnt that I could actually keep up the daily writing thing with ease and quite a lot of pleasure besides. This was good. I am going to do this again. I made it. Woot! - as the kids at school say. I would celebrate only I don't especially feel like drawing attention to myself. I am happy and satisfied on the inside and that's heaps for me.
The other cool thing I must own is that I am so close to finishing my reports that I may just be celebrating that tomorrow night. I really have a great feeling that I have taken my life back under my own control. Feels good!

Avoiding Report Writing

Today I want to write my reports for my students. Every time I get to this time of the year I get the urge to clean my house, start a new business, write a novel, visit an elderly relative I have been neglecting and to read. I read the most I ever read around report writing time.

Yesterday I felt I was being choked to death slowly and painfully by I to do list that I hadn't had time to write down. Many of the things on that to do list were urgent and I'm afraid Mr Covey I was beyond figuring out whether they were important or not. I hadn't slept the night before worrying that if I were to forget one of the things on my list it would create a large catastrophe in my life.

No matter how organised I get, procrastination and panic are my constants.

Reading

I'm finally reading Billy Connelly's biography. I am a fan. I have seen him twice in Melbourne. He is returning soon I hear and I will have to pass, for lots of reasons. I would enjoy it. I have never laughed so much than when I saw his shows. It was a great workout for my stomach muscles.

I am finishing 'The Road to Camelot' a collection of Authurian short stories edited by Sophie Masson. So far my favourite was Isobelle Carmody's story about Guinevere.

I've just started 'Rasberries on the Yangtze' by Karen Wallace.

I am looking forward over the next few weeks to collecting a pile of books for my summer reading. Any suggestions anyone?

Rethinking Me

I have gone over half way on nanowrimo. I feel such a sense of accomplishment. I love this. I have had a few struggly moments, but they have been fleeting, hence moments was the word I used not hours or days.
I have been sick with my lumpy underarm, sore throat tired virus.
Whilst I have been lying around feeling sick and sorry for myself I have been thinking about all my life decisions and what I wanted to be when I grew up and what I have turned out to be. I need to think more on it. I don't feel as inclined to make rash decisions as I once was. I am not in the position to up and leave my job as I used to. I am just thinking about changing the energy I give to my job. It was only meant to be a short-term thing to tide me over and now I have found myself putting all my energy into it. It is not that it is a bad thing to put all your passion and energy into. It's just not meant to be my thing I think. It has given me a very good couple of years but I think it really is time to make some changes to the way I do life and work is one of those things. It has consumed me the last 5 years. It has mostly been a mutual affair, but now I am ready to change things.

Ta Da - I did it

I can't believe it. I caught up. I have been slogging away at it on and off all day. I had to go to docs, which was a pleasant surprise. He was a nice bloke. He didn't callously inflict any pain and actually explained things to me in a way that I (medical ignoramus that I am) could accept and make sense of. I also went to a lovely 75th birthday at the Star Hotel in Town. It was a great spot this afternoon and it was really pleasant.
The most important thing to me is I finished my quota for today for writing and I also managed other stuff. I think I could be getting addicted to be honest.

The week

This has been a busy week. I have kept up with the writing for nanowrimo for most of the week. I have walked every night and all the other things I do to keep myself alive.
Last night I dropped everything though. My daughter was announced school captain for next year. I am so proud of her and happy for her. We went for coffee to Eviva after school/work. She is amazing. I took my son to an event in Morwell and did a spot of shopping, collected daughter from work and came home and went to bed. I was pleased I managed to brush my teeth I felt so tired.
This morning I have cleaned up and am attempting to catch up the writing I missed last night. I feel unimaginative and wonder if I am coming down with the flu or something. I have a lumpy underarm so I am going to the docs this afternoon, which I really dread. I can't stand going to the docs. I know I am too busy at this time of the year to get sick though so I want to get this handled asap.
This must be the dullest post to a blog ever written.

Visit to Melbourne

On Monday I went with a busload of year 9 student's to Melbourne for the day. We toured the Arts Centre. It was interesting and there were a lot of facts about how much and when that revolved around the cost and trouble of building it and I can't remember them all but I got the general vibe that it was very expensive and involved. Now it is there for all Victorians to enjoy, the tour guide said.
It is a beautiful building, but I doubt all Victorians are able to enjoy it. Take that one class for instance. Not one student had ever been there before. Victoria is a big place. I don't know what I was left feeling about it all.
I guess catching the water taxi from Southbank to the Polly Woodside was another experience that left me feeling a little amazed. It has all changed so much from when I worked in the city in the mid 80's. It is unrecognisable actually. I used to walk across the bridge to an annexe in Sth Melbourne and I don't even recognise where I would go now. The landscape has totally changed.
Progress?

New Missions

It is good to set new goals. I have began walking daily again. I wrote my allocated amount of works for the NaNoWriMo competition. I am on schedule with my correcting. I have a job to go for and references. I am feeling better and I probably will stick my job out but it is always good to have choices. It is good to make decisions in your life when it feels others are calling the shots.