Harold!

Harold and I getting ready for our first day back at work!

Week one of being back at Life Education: done and dusted.
Only 2 weeks of Life Ed to go, then I'll be starting my new job!!
This past week has been nice. It's been lovely to be back in an environment I'm so comfortable with, very different to doing relief teaching and being in a different school every other day. I do love relief teaching too though :)
I had a year 7 class for my first lesson this morning, and I only had 11 students there (out of a possible 26). I commented on how small the group was to the kids, and one of the girls responded "Apparently everyone else is too old for Harold" (air quote for 'too old'). It made me laugh :) I then told them that I was 30, and I still loved Harold, to which one of the other girls said "You're 30?? You definitely don't look that old!".
It's safe to say that they were my favourite class for the day :)
Not just cause they complemented me.
OK, mostly cause they complemented me. I'm pretty shallow, I know.
They did up being a really great class as a whole though. Really easy to teach, and a really funny class too. Humour is something I definitely appreciate! :) I was sad when the lesson was over!

On the 4th of June, I'm going into my new school. I'm going to meet my (soon to be) class, and meet their regular teacher and have a chat with her about the coming term. I can't wait to meet my kids! I hope they're funny ;)

Last night I had a dream that I was at the beach with some friends (nobody that I recognised from real life, they were my 'dream friends' though, cause we all go along really well). Anyway, about 6 of us were lying on towels, reading and chatting. When, out of nowhere, a shark launched itself out of the water and onto the beach and bit one of my friends. We were a long way from the shore though, so it launched itself quite a distance, and when it bit my friend, the shark then wriggled backwards into the water, dragging my friend with it. We all watched as the shark ate him. And no one batted an eyelid! Everyone just went back to whatever they were doing before the event. It was like it was expected and normal for something like that to happen. There was no screaming or frantic calling of triple-0. It was really weird. In the dream, I was horrfied, but it was like the messages weren't getting through for me to actually do anything, other than watch. I woke up, heart pounding, and so glad to find it was just a dream!

I had a 'half awake' dream a few nights ago where I was trying to get something out of the middle of this giant ball of wool that I have (for the blanket I never knitted). I don't know exactly what it was I was trying to find, but I was actually semi-awake, and I was out of bed, holding the ball of wool, trying to force my fingers in to get to the middle of it, and I remember doing it. And it made sense at the time. When I got up the next morning, and I saw the ball of wool on the floor, I remembered it all.

How weird are dreams?

Oh say, can you see, by the dawn's early light

In 2004, I lived in America for a year. To be more specific, I lived in Solomons and Arnold (both in Maryland, on the east coast). Both Solomons and Arnold were amazingly beautiful places, and I was very blessed to be able to live there.
Living there for a while changed my taste buds. Well, it didn't so much change them, but it did add a few flavours to them.
When I was in early high school, Dr Pepper used to be sold in 1.25 litre bottles. I loved the stuff. I'm not sure how long it was being sold before I cottoned on to how good it was, but I was so sad when it stopped being sold in the aforementioned form.
How excited was I, when I moved to America, and it was EVERYWHERE!? The answer is, very excited! Now, I didn't go crazy on the stuff, and I stuck to the original version of it, but I did appreciate it's presence. Just knowing it was so readily available, was comfort enough :)
I developed a definite distaste for root beer. It was either root beer, or hot apple cider. I can't quite remember which. I do remember that whichever one it was, tasted a lot like mouth wash.
I was grossed out by 'Easy Cheese'. It's convenient, I get that. It's not 'cheese' though. It seemed entirely wrong to be eating 'cheese' out of a pressurised can for one...but a 'dairy product' (and I use the term very loosely) that doesn't need to be refrigerated?? That can't be good. It was such a vibrant yellow too....the picture below is not doing any advertising favours for the stuff. I did eat it. Once. I apologised to my body afterwards (I didn't really, but I should've).

See what I mean??

Other things I didn't like in America: bread, these nasty things at McDonalds called 'McGriddles', everything being sold in packages (I found it pretty hard to get decent, fresh, produce), and Pop Tarts (I don't like them anyway, but I especially didn't like all the 'iced' ones in America...you can probably buy a select few in Australia). I could go on, but I won't. I don't wanna ostracise my American friends too much :)
Things that I did LOVE though...Applebee's and Olive Garden. Oh, and IHOP, I only went a couple of times, but it was all kinds of awesome!

I was introduced to Reece's Peanut Butter Cups while I was there. LOVED them! The Blockbuster near my house in Brissie sells them, they're super expensive, so I only get them sometimes. Reece's Pieces, they are also fantastic.
The same block of shops, where the Blockbuster is, has a little convenience store, and they sell Dr Pepper in cans (hooray!). Another great thing they sell is:

Those guys are geniuses! Thankfully, it is also expensive ($12 for a pint I believe), so I don't buy it very often either.
I am so lucky I don't live in America. It's a wonder I haven't stacked on 50 kilos with what American stuff I have found here!
I am looking forward to the day I get to go back and visit though (one of my dearest friends in the world lives in Minnesota)...there are so many flavours of Ben and Jerry's that I am yet to try! Plus, it would be cool to catch up with all my friends over there too :)

Woot!

Hello my faithful blog-readers!

Well, on Friday the 27th of April, I applied for a teaching contract I had seen advertised online. It was at a school an hour and a half away, and it was for a maternity leave position, a 15 week contract with a grade 3/4 class.
I emailed off my application, and a few hours later, received a reply. It told me a little more about the position, and about the school. They informed me that because they were a private school, and because they kept their school fees low, they couldn't pay the successful applicant as much as they would be getting in a government school. To me, this was no problem! The chance to have my own class, for just over one full term, far outweighed the difference in pay. Plus, they had free, onsite teacher accommodation, so that solved my concerns about driving 3 hours each day to and from school.
Then, I received an email back, asking if I would like an interview. I jumped at the chance! (as much as you can via email anyway). The interview was scheduled for 11am on the 1st of May.
On the 30th of April, however, I was rung to do a relief day on the 1st, to which I agreed to. Then I had to figure out what to do! I hadn't had any work thus far in the term, so I didn't want to turn down a day of relief, plus the day was at a school I had already worked quite a few days at last term, and I really liked the school.
So, I rang the school I had the interview at, at 7am, on the day of the interview, as asked if I could reschedule it to the following Friday. They were super nice about it, and it was all set for 11am on the 4th.
The 4th came round, and after barely sleeping the night before (the nerves really got to me!), I left home at 7am, to head out for my interview.
That's right.
I left for a place an hour and a half away, 4 hours before I had to be there. Those darn nerves! I was so worried about getting stuck in traffic (apparently I was expecting 2.5 hours worth), that I left super early!
I stopped at an Officeworks along the way, and printed out some stuff for the interview. I also bought a usb stick. You see, all the things I wanted to print, were in an email I'd sent to myself, so I used the computer at Officeworks, downloaded all I needed onto the usb, and then gave it to the friendly lady at Officeworks witht he instructions 'print everything on there, please'. I then bought a new folder to put all my printing in, ready to hand over to my interviewer. All up, I spent $14 (thereabouts). To someone who lives from fortnight to fortnight, and just forked out enough money to get petrol to the school and back, $14 is a lot. Strange, but true.
Anyway, interview went really well. I wasn't half as nervous once I was actually in it. I cracked tonnes of hilarious, witty jokes (as my jokes always are...). The principal was really nice, and the other two interviewers were just as nice. They gave me the low-down on how my interview went when it was over (which I found really helpful) and they said they'd let me know by the end of the following week.
You know what though? He didn't even ask what was in the folder! $14 wasted! Though, maybe he though 'Wow, she's got a folder. She should get this job". Maybe the other interviewees didn't bring folders. Maybe that's what gave me 'the edge'. Yeah, that's probably it ;)
The following Friday (which was just this past Friday), I received an email, saying that I'd been 'short listed' and that they had one last person to interview on Monday, and let me know by Tuesday.
Today (Tuesday) I spent the entire day, carrying my phone around like a newborn baby. It never left my side, I was so worried about missing a call! I was praying heaps. And I also tried to give myself a reverse pep-talk, telling myself it didn't matter if I didn't get the job, that it was no big deal. I didn't want to feel too dreadful when they told me I didn't get it. But, at around 4:30 this arvo, they rang to let me know I had the job!
I tell ya, my heart just about beat right out of my chest I was so excited! I'm still buzzing, 8.5 hours later!
I cannot wait to start!
It's going to be such a brilliant experience! I am so stoked to have my own class! (if only temporary)
So, the moral of this story...God is SO good! I am so blessed to have this opportunity, and I am thankful to God for it!

Busy Weekend!

Long weekend, you are well and truly over, but I didn't get a call for work today, so I get a 4-day weekend!

The weekend was busy. Busy, but fun!

I did a photography course on Saturday. My sister and her family had bought me a voucher for the course for my birthday. It was at the Botanic Gardens in the city, and it ran from 9am - 3pm. It was run by a photographer called 'Lucas Muro', he does all sorts of photography, he's based on the Sunny Coast, he's originally from Brazil (and thus, has an awesome accent!), he's lovely, funny, and a fantastic teacher! Anyway, the course covered a lot of ground, and we learnt a lot about all the different settings in manual mode, and we got lots of free time throughout the day to put what we were learning into practice. I absolutely LOVED it! I hope that I can do a couple more of his courses in the future, I'm especially keen on the night photography one.

One of the photos from the day :)

Saturday night, I had dinner at a friend's house, with 2 other friends. It was a fun night! After dinner we played Articulate and Scattegories, but very funny games to play.

Sunday morning was church. Which is always challenging and encouraging.

After church, I went to my nephew's 8th birthday party. It was at 'Bricks n Fun' in Capalaba (Lego inspired place), where all the kids got to play games, have Lego building races, eat cake and have free time, building whatever Lego sets they wanted to (I built a 2 storey house with my 5 year old nephew, which was heaps of fun!).
Then we went out for dinner, to Sizzler, for more birthday celebrations! The staff there have gotta have cleaned up an awful lot of vomit in their time, unleashing kids at an all-you-can-eat place, that includes dessert, has gotta have resulted in some 'technicolour yawning'. Thankfully, my nephews and niece have a fairly good gauge on when they've had enough.

Monday, well, that was Labor Day, so a public holiday here. The 3 lovely ladies that I had dinner with Saturday night, and I went to Raby Bay for a picnic. It was such a gorgeous day! We ate, chatted, took lots of photos, and then got coffee before heading home.
Last night, I went to dinner at another friend's house. With 3 other friends. Which was also a fantastic night!

So, I've had a busy weekend, but a really good one.

I love my friends and family so much! I am so thankful to God for them. Amidst all the fun on Saturday, I was feeling pretty sad, so being able to spend the day with family, and being able to talk to my friend about it yesterday, was just what I needed. God is good!

What tomorrow brings!

In approximately 14.5 hours, I have an interview. It's for a 15 week contract on a grade 3/4 class (grade 3/4 just happen to be my favourite grades to teach!). It's at a small private school, about 1.5 hours from my place. If I am successful, the school has a share-house type thing going on for staff, where I could stay during the week, and then head back to Brissie on the weekends if I so desired. The school has a mastery program, where the high school students can opt to take extra classes in things like golf and aviation. The school is quite prestigious.

I am packing it!

I thought I was doing ok, until about half an hour ago, when I started reading more about the school. Now I'm nervous as all get out!

I texted a friend a few days ago, about the interview, saying I was freaking out, and I couldn't remember anything from uni, and she responded: 'Remember, God goes ahead of you'.

True!

I just need to keep reminding myself of this fact tonight, when I am tossing and turning, trying to sleep, and having half-asleep dreams about only having jeans clean, and forgetting to wear shoes to the interview (dreamt that last night).

So good to know that God already knows how I'm going to go in the interview, and He already knows whether I'm going to get the job or not.

The lady I have been in correspondence with is lovely. So I am looking forward to meeting her after all the emails and phone calls we have exchanged, so that's another positive thing about tomorrow ;)

Watch this space, maybe I'll be a grade 3/4 teacher soon...how great would that be!!??