A Good Week

[rumpelsnorcack]

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 :)

Comments

[zeborah]

Ooh, can we practice Te Reo a bit together sometimes? I took stage 1 a few years ago and have picked up some vocab since, but would really like to be more confident in actually using it.

[rumpelsnorcack]

Yes! We can! I'm going to need practice so that'll work brilliantly so long as the vocab they teach us is compatible with the vocab you know. The final assessment is apparently going to be a 10 minute speech on your whakapapa so from what I gather what you learn is geared towards getting you to that point of being able to do that, so it's a very specific set of vocab you learn.

[promethia_tenk]

All caught up! You know, you warned me for angst, but I think on average your posts have gotten far more positive, even going back a few months. I don't know how much that's an accurate reflection, but it does make me hopeful for you *squish* And it's wonderful to hear so many things are slotting into place for you this week! *crosses fingers for continued good news*

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.

[promethia_tenk]

Holy crap, I just read one of the best fics I've ever seen and it's amazing Rory p.o.v. and is so crammed full of spectacular stuff I hardly know what to do with myself, but I do think I want to hug this fic and will do so as soon as I work out how to hug something non-corporeal. Anyway, I don't know where all it's been posted or whether you might have seen it somewhere, but I couldn't let you not see it:

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.

[rumpelsnorcack]

Oooh awesome. I shall rush off and read it once I have plowed through all my LJ comments. Rory P.O.V. shall be my reward :)

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.

[rumpelsnorcack]

OMG!!! That really was perfect. Like, seriously that Rory is exactly how I see him. It's like the author crawled into my head and pulled out my thoughts and gave them to Rory and wrote them so beautifully and ... I don't know. There aren't enough words for how wonderful that story really is. I want to keep it forever - I feel the way I felt when I first read my favourite ever HP fic, almost like all the breath has been sucked out of me.

Anyway, thank you!!! For pointing me towards it.

[promethia_tenk]

Right?!?!? Right?!?!? I was reading it and just line after line seemed so damn right and I was thinking 'oh my god, she's going to flip!'

I'm so glad it lived up to expectations <3 Like I said, I couldn't not let you see that!

[rumpelsnorcack]

Thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaank you!! I'm so so glad you pointed me in that direction. I really did flip. It was almost creepy the way it was just so damn right.

[rumpelsnorcack]

You know, you warned me for angst, but I think on average your posts have gotten far more positive, even going back a few months. I don't know how much that's an accurate reflection, but it does make me hopeful for you *squish*
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.

[katdakiwi.livejournal.com]

Yay I'm really glad things are going well for you and yay for studying!

[rumpelsnorcack.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad to be happy again too. Also yes study is awesome - really looking forward to tonight's starting class. Really want to get underway now :)

[sea_thoughts]

Congratulations on learning another language, so jealous about Pottermore!

[rumpelsnorcack.livejournal.com]

Thanks :D I'm looking forward to it - and you can still get in to Pottermore. There are another 5 days and another 5 clues - the next one will be up between 9am and 1pm BST if that helps.

[sea_thoughts]

I know, but I'm at work and we're not allowed to browse the internet except on our breaks and lunches. And there are only two PCs in the break room so the chances of me actually having enough time to log on, let alone find the Quill, are slim.

[rumpelsnorcack.livejournal.com]

Ah rats! hopefully the other times on other days will be better for you and at least the last day is Saturday so you may be able to do it then?

[sea_thoughts]

I'm away on Saturday, meeting up friends. It's been arranged for weeks so I can't cancel on them. :( Maybe tomorrow afternoon.

[rumpelsnorcack.livejournal.com]

Good luck! At least they are announcing the time frames for them now so you can see if you have a chance.

[lorelaisquared.livejournal.com]

YAY I'm so glad things are good right now.

[rumpelsnorcack.livejournal.com]

Me too! It's so nice to feel happy and in control again :D

[janemarple9.livejournal.com]

I'm so pleased that things are slipping into "normality" rumpel xxx and YAY for pottemore!

[rumpelsnorcack.livejournal.com]

I'm glad too :) Also yay for both of us for Pottermore. Now it's just the wait for the welcome letters :)