A Good Week
Aug. 1st, 2011 11:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
I'm having a really good week this week. Things are just all clicking into place and my life feels like it has meaning again.
First, I have confirmation that my teaching registration has been updated and renewed so I can start looking around for work (relief work probably since schools are shedding students and thus teachers' jobs really fast at the moment). Now that the smallest child is at school and settled in and I've enjoyed some child-free me time I feel ready to get back out there again and actually have the time to do it now which is great.
Second, I got an email from the electoral people asking those who worked in the 2008 election to apply to work again this year. That's not guaranteed of course, but I should be able to get at least some work on the day unless I was dreadful last time (and I'm pretty sure I wasn't). I'd ideally like to do some work pre and post election too; not so much for the money, though that is nice, but because it's fascinating to see how the behind the scenes stuff works. A friend of mine did behind the scenes work last time and it was a lot of work but really interesting.
Third, I enrolled in a course at Te Wananga o Aoteraroa to do a Maori language course starting tomorrow night. It's a full time course which lasts for 36 weeks. Two of my friends are doing this already and they have really enjoyed it. I have been watching a little enviously as they converse in Maori and understand each other so when they said the Wananga was taking mid year enrolments I jumped in there. It'll be good for several reasons. 1. to be able to speak NZ's second language better, 2. it's essential now to use both Maori and English in the classroom while teaching so it will be helpful for that and 3. it's going to be fun. From the sounds of it it's a very fun course to do.
Fourth, and most frivolously, I got into the Pottermore thing last night so after they send out my welcome letter I get to play around with the site before it officially opens in October. Yay! I like playing around with new sites :)
Anyway, things are good this week and nothing quaky to mess any of that up (well a few little ones but they are so normal they don't count as 'things' anymore). This is all good stuff :)
First, I have confirmation that my teaching registration has been updated and renewed so I can start looking around for work (relief work probably since schools are shedding students and thus teachers' jobs really fast at the moment). Now that the smallest child is at school and settled in and I've enjoyed some child-free me time I feel ready to get back out there again and actually have the time to do it now which is great.
Second, I got an email from the electoral people asking those who worked in the 2008 election to apply to work again this year. That's not guaranteed of course, but I should be able to get at least some work on the day unless I was dreadful last time (and I'm pretty sure I wasn't). I'd ideally like to do some work pre and post election too; not so much for the money, though that is nice, but because it's fascinating to see how the behind the scenes stuff works. A friend of mine did behind the scenes work last time and it was a lot of work but really interesting.
Third, I enrolled in a course at Te Wananga o Aoteraroa to do a Maori language course starting tomorrow night. It's a full time course which lasts for 36 weeks. Two of my friends are doing this already and they have really enjoyed it. I have been watching a little enviously as they converse in Maori and understand each other so when they said the Wananga was taking mid year enrolments I jumped in there. It'll be good for several reasons. 1. to be able to speak NZ's second language better, 2. it's essential now to use both Maori and English in the classroom while teaching so it will be helpful for that and 3. it's going to be fun. From the sounds of it it's a very fun course to do.
Fourth, and most frivolously, I got into the Pottermore thing last night so after they send out my welcome letter I get to play around with the site before it officially opens in October. Yay! I like playing around with new sites :)
Anyway, things are good this week and nothing quaky to mess any of that up (well a few little ones but they are so normal they don't count as 'things' anymore). This is all good stuff :)
(no subject)
Date: 2011-08-01 06:19 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-08-01 11:39 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-08-01 04:46 pm (UTC)And your trip to Brisbane sounds like it was a good break. Everything I know about that city I learned in your post, but it looks beautiful. I like curves toooo! (although they do play hell with navigation :-\ )
Good luck with everything, and with your language class! That sounds like a great thing to pursue. I had no idea Maori was so widely used in NZ, with a lot of bilingual education and such--that's really cool.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-08-01 06:57 pm (UTC)http://www.whofic.com/viewstory.php?sid=42931
Am working on an email for you : ) I realize we have not talked since AGMGTW! "Conflicted" hardly begins to describe my reaction, but I am trying to combat it with POND FAMILY love.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-08-01 09:40 pm (UTC)POND FAMILY love is awesome and will save all the things. Personally I'm mostly happy with how this half season went, though I have a few twingey issues of a character agency sort. I will be very interested to see your thoughts.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-08-01 11:39 pm (UTC)Anyway, thank you!!! For pointing me towards it.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-08-01 11:47 pm (UTC)I'm so glad it lived up to expectations <3 Like I said, I couldn't not let you see that!
(no subject)
Date: 2011-08-02 12:03 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-08-01 09:36 pm (UTC)Innnnnnnnnnnnnnteresting. I count months from the 22nd to the 22nd these days just because it's a gauge for me of 'how am I coping x months out from the Feb quake' and the month that ended on July 22nd was, quite literally, the worst month of this entire thing. The school thing, the zoning, insurance issues and the total overwhelming cascade of extremely negative reports in the paper conspired to really bring me down. I did write and delete a few posts because I didn't want to be TOO negative so I'm glad that worked at least. I do think that, on average, I'm doing better than I did in February/March but there was a big dark hole in that month that was pretty awful. But it's over now so it can just sit there in the past and I can mock it: 'haha, you tried but you didn't break me' :D
And your trip to Brisbane sounds like it was a good break. Everything I know about that city I learned in your post, but it looks beautiful. I like curves toooo! (although they do play hell with navigation :-\ )
Brisbane is wonderful. I don't think I'll ever live there (I'm too committed to where I am and the people here) but if I had to choose anywhere else to live - of everywhere that I've seen in my life so far that's the one I'd choose to live in.
As to curves, I have been looking around and almost all the buildings I really love here (apart from the heritage ones like the cathedral) have curves somewhere on them. The Art Gallery, a gorgeous apartment block (that is in danger of being felled, sadly), the curvy windows on a lot of the character buildings, even the sweep of some of the roads I most like to drive are all curvy and cool. Curves! They must play a part in the city's future lol
I had no idea Maori was so widely used in NZ, with a lot of bilingual education and such--that's really cool.
I'm not sure exactly how widely used Maori is - it's certainly on all official signage along with the English and all teachers have to incorporate it into their daily classroom routines. Many only do a minimum but there is a push to tighten that up and make it far more integrated. Many schools do have bilingual units (ours has just set up a whanau (roughly translated as 'family') class this year) where they have more focus on it of course. I'd ideally like to speak it properly fluently and if I like this course I can do another two years and end up with a diploma in it which would be awesome.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-08-01 11:24 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-08-01 10:15 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-08-01 04:03 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-08-01 10:17 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-08-01 10:51 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-08-01 11:43 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-08-02 07:21 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-08-02 09:55 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-08-01 08:15 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-08-01 10:18 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-08-02 07:06 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-08-02 09:57 pm (UTC)