An update of sorts

So, I was lying in bed and couldn’t sleep and realized that I hadn’t updated my blog in a long time. So, some highlights:
- I had a really good birthday. I went out to lunch with my sister-in-law and the kids and then spent the rest of it writing a paper for the MA. Then, on Friday I had some friends over for drinks and fun. I have good friends. They gave me cool pressies. Lol. It was a fun night. I still can’t believe I’m 27. I think I’d like to be 20 again. That was a really good year for the most part. I just don’t want to get old. Someone should put me out of my misery before I get ancient.
- I’ve been sick for for-ev-er. Crazy. I’ve basically got pneumonia, and I’m on my third course of antibiotics. I’m signed off of work, and I have to go back to the doctor on Monday to see if I’m any better. I even had to have a chest X-ray. How crazy is that? I’ve never had one of those before. All I know is that I’m sick of spending money on going to the doctor.
- Oh, yeah, the stupid MA paper...I basically pulled an all-nighter to write it. I haven’t done that since uni. I’m interested to see if my grade is any better this time around. It can’t be any worse unless I don’t pass.
- I passed my teaching assessment, and I now have Jersey Qualified Teacher Status. I’m so glad that it’s over and done with! It was two years of hard work, and I’m happy now that all I have to get through is my NQT year. I’ve had a job interview, and I’m supposed to go back to teach a lesson on Tuesday afternoon to see if I get the job. I’m keeping my fingers crossed. I really need a job!
- I’m currently super obsessed with an Irish folk group called The High Kings. I can’t figure out if I’m more in love with Brian Dunphy or Darren Holden though. The group is amazing, and I really want to go see them in concert. I want to see them bad enough that I’m actually considering going to Dublin this summer just to see them. I know I won’t because I won’t be able to afford it, but it would be fun. They are just soooo good. They have wicked awesome harmonies and amazing energy. Who knew I’d become a fan of Irish folk music?
- USA played England in the World Cup and drew 1-1. Soooo cool. I really didn’t expect them to do that well. I hope they do well in the rest of the group games. I was embarrassed for Greece too. They got the crap kicked out of them. I’m looking forward to seeing Spain play and Italy. I love Buffon.

Unions, Protesting, Bullying, and Liberals

There was a march and a rally yesterday held by the teachers' unions in Jersey to protest wages and negotiating rights. I didn't go.

There was a union meeting on Thursday to encourage participation in said rally and protest and to lay out the position of the Union. I did attend that.

A lot of things have been said that I don't agree with.

The whole thing is that a pay freeze has been placed upon all States of Jersey workers. I think it's understandable in the economic climate. However, this was the second year in a row. And the States did it without negotiating. In a teacher's contract they have the right to negotiate about pay and conditions. (I'm not on the same contract, so it's different for me.) Every time the Unions have set down to negotiate the States have refused. They have sent low-level administrative types with no authority to do anything.

Needless to say the teachers are frustrated. They're quite happy to take what has now been offered (a 2% pay rise for this year and next year) in exchange for giving up lunch duties and things like that.

Now 2% seems like a lot. It's more than a lot of people get. However, in Jersey, it is standard to get a cost of living pay rise every year. The reason for this is due to inflation and the very high cost of living. The inflation for this year is already over 3%, so in effect, the 2% is already a pay cut since it doesn't even match inflation. Or, at least that's what the Unions say.

There's a lot more to it than that. But that's the general idea.

I am a member of a union, solely for the protection that it provides as me as a secondary school teacher. It is in case a student makes an allegation against me. I don't have the same contract as other teachers or the same rights. I am interested in the ongoing dispute because it affects my friends and colleagues. And it will affect me when they strike because I will be in school.

The attitude has been such that if you don't support the Union, though, that you're scum. I was literally getting bullied in the staff room on Friday for not attending the protest on Saturday. I don't believe in unions. I don't believe in protests. Sorry, this is taking me back to my political side. They are liberal ideas. And I do understand that teaching is a liberal profession, but I feel that I must remain true to my own ideals. And I am most definitely not a liberal. So, while I support my colleagues in their fight, I do not wish to participate. I know that pisses a lot of people off (hence the bullying), but I will not be forced into doing something that I don't agree with.

Am I crazy? Yeah, maybe a little.

I was so tired today. I'm still exhausted from not getting any sleep Sunday night on the boat. I spent the first two lessons supervising three kids who were doing a piece of controlled coursework. I hadn't planned on that, so I had no work with me to do or a computer or anything. I was soooooo bored, and I almost fell asleep. And I was there for two hours.

So, in order to kill boredom, I started working on a campaign strategy for running the Presidential campaign for the future president of Panama. My mind has been buzzing with ideas since this past weekend, and I wrote some of them down today, ways of exploiting the candidate and his family and their contacts. I was putting together a PR strategy for making the candidate look good and be press-friendly. I was starting to come up with some good stuff, but I realised that I need some help. I've never worked on a proper campaign before. So, I went to Amazon and looked for any books on running campaigns. I haven't ordered any yet (I am sooooo broke after this weekend.), but I would like to get a couple.

Maybe nothing will ever come of this. Maybe it's just a pipe dream that will never be reality, but it's okay to dream. And I have to admit, running a Presidential campaign in a tropical paradise would be my dream job. I'm a realist, though (or maybe that's pessimist) so I do realize that it's not going to happen. I want it too badly. And we all know that the things that I want this worst never come to fruition, or if they do, it doesn't work out quite the way I hoped.

La boda de mi pataza

I'm having a lot of problems writing this for many reasons.

Maybe I should give some background?

I have a really good friend named Mario. He is one of the best friends that I ever had, and I learned a lot from him, both good and bad. We met in Panama in 2003. He's an amazing and intelligent person (everyone knows that intelligence is the most important quality in a friend). I was an international student and he was in charge of the international program, so I had a lot of time to get to know him, and we really hit it off. We have a lot in common, and we use to talk for hours on end. He's a lovely person, and I will always be grateful to him for everything, but most especially for moving to England so that I could meet my husband (that's another story for another time.) Here's a picture of me and Mario in Oxford in 2004.

Anyway, when Mario told me he was getting married, I knew there was nothing that was going to stop me. I even bought my tickets back in September. How the hell was I know that a volcano in Iceland was going to erupt and screw up all of the carefully laid plains of mice and men?

On Thursday, I got up, got ready, and was checking my e-mails before leaving for the airport when I got an e-mail saying that my plane had been cancelled due to a volcano. I thought it was a joke. I checked the news, and it turned out to be true. I was really upset. So, we quickly re-booked a flight to Gatwick and rented a car to be able to drive up to Liverpool. Not ideal, but better than not going at all. Twenty minutes after booking the flight and the car, it was cancelled. So then we tried to book a ferry to take the car over and drive up, but Condor Ferries' website crashed all over the UK. So, we drove to the harbour, where we waited for over 3 hours. Luckily, the nice young woman there helped us to get our car on, and we got one of the last places on the boat.

We got to Weymouth on the ferry, and then drove to Liverpool. Once we got to Liverpool (at 3AM), we tried to find the hotel. I swear, someone really didn't want us to go to that wedding. The GPS told us that we were arriving at the hotel, but we couldn't see it. She said to turn left, so we did and wound up on a tunnel that looked like it was never going to end. We wound up at a toll booth with no money. We managed to scrounge up the £1.40 needed for the toll, but it was literally the last of our money. We had 2p left. So, we started driving around trying to figure out how to get back. We knew we were lost, the GPS was also lost. It was a nightmare. To make it worse, an unmarked police car pulled up beside us, flashed their warrant card, and asked to us pull over. Turns out they thought I was a prostitute and Lyndon was picking me up because we drove through a redlight district. Excellent. Luckily, they believed us when we said we were lost. They took us to a cash machine to get some money to pay the toll back and led us back to the tunnel. I finally got to sleep about 4:30 Friday morning.

On Friday I was able to go to see some of Liverpool. My thoughts: it's this odd juxtaposition between old and modern, and it's quite incongruous. I loved some of the architecture. Here's a picture of the inside of the Anglican cathedral. Went to dinner with Mario et al on Friday night. That was fun. I forgot how much fun it was just to hang out with him and Joe (his brother) and just laugh! He gave us a chocolate habanero pepper. Sooooo hot. But I didn't want to look like a wuss, so I just sat and smiled. Meanwhile, Joe was dying beside me. It was such a fun night. I really do miss having my friends around.

Saturday was the wedding. Mario was handsome and Kirsty was beautiful, as it should be. I'm really happy for mi diablito. El merece la felicidad. Here's a few pictures from the wedding.

Mario y Kirsty

Mario y yoJoe y yo

Mario y Kirsty

My Lyndon looking cute. I just wish he'd smile!
Alex (Mario's sister), me, and Gaby (Joe's girlfriend)

Books, books, books!

There is one thing that can always make me happy: books!

So, I was really excited when I got a couple of books in the last week.

The first book was The Great Bazaar. This is a book of short stories and bits and bobs by Peter V. Brett, the author of The Painted Man. It was brilliant to whet my appetite for more about Arlen while waiting for the next book in the series, The Desert Spear. It was really insightful, and actually, it helped make a few things to make sense in both The Painted Man and The Desert Spear. I think I would like to see a longer glossary at the end of the book, though. It's something that really helps to keep straight who's who and what's what, especially when it's another language.

So, two days after I received The Great Bazaar, I also got The Desert Spear. This is the second book by Peter V. Brett, and it followed along from The Painted Man. I was so excited to get it, and it didn't disappoint. I re-read The Painted Man about two months ago in anticipation of the new book, so everything was fresh in my mind. I dived into it immediately, and with a few exceptions (French class, for example) I didn't stop reading. I finished it in less than 24 hours, and it's not a small book. And now...I'm dying to read the next book. It was absolutely brilliant and amazing.

I never really liked Jardir in The Painted Man. He's a horrible person, but Brett has created a world where one can come to respect, if not like, Jardir. Well, at least for me. I am able to see how he became the person he did, and even if he is a bit misguided at times, greedy, selfish, and a murderer, he is fueled by good intentions.

Arlen was always my favorite character, and I was delighted to see more about him and his developing relationships with those around him and himself.

I am really looking forward to seeing how the two Deliverers resolve their differences in the next book.

Health Care

Don't even get me started.

Homosexuality and Homophobia

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/8578787.stm

I have a lot of gay friends, both in Jersey and in the States, including my little sister. I reacted badly the first time that a really good friend came out to me. I didn't know what to do, and it went badly, and it ruined a friendship. This kid was one of my best friends, and I screwed it all up. I still feel bad about it. However, it was a valuable learning experience, and when my sister came out, I was okay. I supported her. I didn't freak out, I just accepted it.

Due to my religion I don't necessarily agree with homosexuality, but I can accept someone for who they are and not judge them for the things that they do. I don't believe in marriage for gay couples, but I am okay with civil partnerships. I just think that marriage has religious connotations and should be reserved for a man and woman. Civil partnerships give the same rights as marriage. Compromise...it makes the world work.

Anyway, I just read the above article on the BBC. Now, why I understand the point of the couple in the article, I also see the point of the woman. And I don't think that the government should be able to force her, or anyone, to give up their convictions, it doesn't matter if they're right or wrong. It's her business, her house, and if that's the way she wants to run it, then it's her prerogative. Her business with either suffer from the backlash of the homosexual community or it will thrive from those who are of a like-mind.

I think it's commendable in this day and age to have convictions and hold to them. They're are too many people who allow society to dictate what is right in this day and age. Even if I don't agree with the actions, I agree with the sentiment. I wouldn't do what she did, but there are other things that I might do that could be just as politically incorrect.

Sorry for offending anyone. /end rant

Fat girls, shopping, and jobs

I'm trying to find an outfit for this wedding that I'm going to next month. Being Mormon and being fat are putting me at a distinct disadvantage. And that's not to mention being short. Plus, I'm picky. I don't like most of the things I've seen. I know waht I have in mind: a nice, spring knee-length skirt with a bright colored top to go with it. But I can't seem to find what I want. I found a black winter skirt that I'm thinking of buying, but it's black, and I don't think that I should wear black to a wedding. It's not a funeral...or is it? And I'm between sizes. The size above me is just a bit too big and the size below me is just a bit small. And I like food too much to fix that. Oh, well. I'll find something I'm sure. It's just that there's not a lot of choice in Jersey. Maybe I'll find something in Liverpool.

I spent this morning looking for jobs in England. I don't want to go to England and leave Lyndon for a year, but it doesn't look like there's anything in Jersey. Maybe something will still come up. Who knows? But I don't want to leave it too late either. So, I sent off about 50 e-mails this morning to 50 different schools. We'll see how it goes, I guess. I find the whole situation depressing. I'd rather just stay at LRS with the kids that I know and do my NQT year there. I don't really want to do my NQT year somewhere else. Besides, I finally have friends.

I've found it really difficult to find people I actually like and want to hang out with in Jersey, but now that I have, I'm going to have to go somewhere else. Kind of sucks, in my opinion.

I met up with Gilles today for a drink and had a chat. We sat and made fun of people as they walked by. It was kind of fun.

Rugby now. Fun. Wales won the first match. I hope Scotland beat Ireland and England beat France. Yay for rugby boys. Soooo yummy.

Snail Mail and Nostalgia

So, last month I got two snail mail letters; the first in a very long time. One was from my very good friend, Starphish, and the other was from a friend that I haven't really spoken to since high school.

Well, with being sick and then going back to school, I never got around to writing back, so I've just sat down to write a couple of letters.

What is it about writing letters that makes me nostalgic? It brings back loads of memories. For example, writing to Phish I thought about all of the fun times we had together over the years. I remember the notes we used to leave in each other's lockers in high school for inspiration and encouragement. The sleepovers we used to have. Phish coming to visit me at college and us hanging out together, giggling about boys, life, and church. Fun times.

Writing to Stephanie, it made me remember times even further back. In 9th grade, we hated each other. Then, after that, we realized that we had a passion for the same types of music. We used to go to concerts together. We drooled over band members together. There were four of us back then who used to all go to the shows and then crash at Stephanie's house before school the next day. Those were more simple times.

Stephanie joined the Navy. So, I wrote to her when she first went in. I was really proud of her. I mean, at 27, it can't be an easy thing to do, you know? So, she wrote me back, and I've just written her another letter.

Hmmm...nostalgia...it's fun and depressing all at the same time. For someone that's only 26, I feel like I have too many memories. Most are good. Some aren't. There are a few regrets. But it was by far, an easier time in life without as many responsibilities and worries as there are now.

I miss some of my friends from high school and college. A lot of them I have on Facebook, but it's not the same as hanging out like we used to. Some of them I haven't spoken to in years. A few of them are drug addicts. Some are in the military. A couple have passed away. Growing up sucks. lol.

Here are a couple of pictures from back in the day:

I'm in the front row, and Phish is in the back totally not looking at the camera, or anywhere at all, really. This was taken at Baccalaureate. Also in the picture is Erick, Mark, and Stevie.

This is me with Marinda, senior year. I was Student Government President. This photo was taken during Homecoming Week, which is why I'm dressed like this.

Unfortunately, I don't have any scanned pictures of me and Stephanie. I think I might have to dig some out. Actually, I don't have any scanned high school pictures at all. These I've stolen from other people. All my high school pix are in a box in a closet somewhere. So much for nostalgia.

Books

Books = love
Books = joy

I love books just about more than anything in this world. Seriously. I spend all of my money on books. In fact, I wish I had more money so that I could spend it on books. I love the way the look, the way they feel, the way they smell. To me, there's nothing better than getting a brand new book to read.

Granted, my book reading is usually confined to the fantasy genre because it's an escape from the real world, but I will read just about anything. Besides, fantasy is just so FUN! And I think that reading should be about having fun and enjoying yourself. If more people realized how fun it is to read and get lost in another world, I think there would be more readers.

On Wednesdays at school we have silent reading during form time. My kids hate it. It's a battle every week to get them to a) be silent and b) actually read. I started off the year reading to them. We tried reading The Hunger Games. They didn't listen and didn't want to know. That was quite frustrating, as it's a really good book that I thought would interest them. So, now, I've just decided to give up on that battle and just make them sit in silence. If they don't bring a book two weeks in a row they get a DT. When coercion doesn't work, I guess punishment does. It's just a shame that kids see books as bad.

I remember being a kid and always loving books. Sure, I can admit that that's probably not normal, but I had fun doing "normal" kid stuff too like riding my bike, playing on the Nintendo, watching TV, etc. But there was nothing quite like reading. It's like a movie but better, and it lasts longer.

Anyway, I finished another book last night. I'm not reading as much as I'd like to this year. I've been super busy, and I'm working on my MA. However, Lyndon begged me to read "Nation" by Terry Pratchett. I'm not a huge Pratchett fan, so I was a bit reluctant to read it. Surprisingly, it was okay. It wasn't my favorite book, but it was entertaining and interesting. It was a good premise for a book, even if it didn't end quite the way that I thought it would.

I am now looking forward to a couple of new books, coming out this year. Two of them will be out in April, so look forward to me talking more about books come April-time.