I’m jealous of other people’s abilities to do retrospectives on their years. Um. It’s too hard.

Stuff this year:
-I got a Josh
-I got the first real job I have liked
-I managed to put up with prac teaching, if “put up” is defined as not actually quitting at any point
-I finished uni for the 3rdish time?
-I did basically no proper exercise :(
-I didn’t get the job overseas that I wanted
-I listened to a lot of Arcade Fire
-I was sick one million times
-I ate a lot of frozen peas

See I don’t knowwww.

Resolutions for next year:
-Do more (any) exercise
-Eat better
-Drink less Coke Zero
-Get a career
-Move out

I don’t have to go to work for… 5 days \o/

Real proper holidays (not the “do your assignments” kind) are nice. I am way relaxed :)

I don’t have to go to work for 13 days \o/ Yay Christmas.

I have only needed presents for eight people this year: immediate family, boyfriend, work KK, Chow’s Mystery Christmas Gift Exchange person, and two people who have told me they got me something (um, if you have something for me and I don’t know about it… please drop a hint!). This does not seem like very many? Possibly because last year I was responsible for all the Cousin Gifts and this year they somehow got taken care of before I noticed? Anyway Christmas shopping was easy, everyone told me more or less exactly what they wanted. And in some instances came with me to get it, and then carried it for me because it was heavy.

In return… well in the case of my sister’s present to me, I actually went and bought it myself and then gave it to her. It is a new mouse! Unlike my current mouse, it will scroll down. I never knew how much I would miss scrolling down until I couldn’t do it for a fortnight!!

Anyway, yes it eliminates the element of surprise. But gosh it makes life run smoothly.

P.S. Turtle!

Yep.

I feel like I finished my last prac about a day ago… and suddenly I am on prac again :(

Teaching, as a job, seems fairly purposeful and challenging but the problem is that it is exhausting. Being a non-organised kind of person, I can see the next 40 years ahead of me as a long, long series of rushes towards deadlines followed by crashes that I recover from just in time for the next deadline to knock me down again? I know I found 9-to-5 office work absolutely soul-crushing, but… I hope the meaningfulness and the momentum are enough to make up for the fact that I am going to have homework every night of my life.

That said! This prac is looking better than last prac so far, although I don’t want to speak too soon. I have one class of about 10(?) international students who all seem like really sweet kids, and I also have a year 9 Italian class who are… year 9s. Insufficient observation so far to say what they’ll be like. And I’m still trying to pick up a mainstream ESL class.

There are seven other student teachers there, and we’re all camped out together at a table in the staff room, which is really nice. Having other-student-teacher Michael in the languages office to whinge to was one of my last prac’s few saving graces, and this time you can’t walk into the room without being pretty sure there’ll be someone there to bug. It’s nice.

Anyway, there is also life beyond prac!

For example, I turned 25 on Friday! It was good, I liked it. Then sister’s family 21st on Saturday afternoon (this means: talk to your grandparents for a couple of hours and have a quiche), and Chow’s(/Josh’s) housewarming on Saturday night (/well into Sunday morning). COLDEST HOUSEWARMING EVER. But also good. And then sleeping on Sunday (…well into afternoon).

And then last night, after prac, I went to the Cobra Starship/The Academy Is…/Panic at the Disco show. It was really good!! I had forgotten how much I am entertained by CS and TAI. Panic less so, to be honest. But definitely worth it. I need to go to more gigs. A+

Humph. It is two days to my 25th birthday. Despite my dramatics, I am not actually very distressed about it. I am having a pizza party on Friday night? NOT REALLY ON PURPOSE. But. Pizza. Also, have to work all day but going out for lunch? So lose/win/win.

Then on Saturday I am going to two parties (for other people)! And then I go on prac on Monday :( I am already exhausted; where am I going to find those five weeks of energy?! Ahgh. Oh and on Monday night I have Cobra Starship/The Academy Is…/Panic at the Disco. So that is good. Though also tiring. But I got seated tickets, cos I have some genius foresight.

Could do with less interpersonal drama at the moment. Very, very lame Sunday that has resonated through the whole week. Am determined to have put it out of my mind by the end of tomorrow, but inclined to think some enduring damage has been done. Bit cut up about it. But at some point you have to draw a line? :/