A Day Out and About in Amsterdam

I love it when the sun shines. It makes everything that much easier to deal with.

Today I had an activity day with my class. We went on a 17th century themed walk through Amsterdam and then we went to the science museum, Nemo. I took lots of pictures during the walk and none at Nemo. Hahaha. The thing about Nemo is that it's just too much fun getting in there and doing things yourself and my class doesn't like getting their picture taken.

I uploaded my pictures earlier and played around with them on my simple picture editor. I really should devote some time to really learning PhotoShop but that's a goal for later.

Here are my pictures, none of which are in their original state.

I love Dutch canals and the buildings in Amsterdam.

This is the Oude Kerk (Old Church).

Another lovely Amsterdam vista.

This bench on the Nieuwmarkt (New Market) is really blue but I made it even bluer. Not by much, though.

I love the houses on the water.

One of the many little bridges.

Montelbaanstoren (Montelbaan's Tower). This tower was used as a defense point in the city wall. As the city grew in the Golden Century this tower became the point of origin for many sailors leaving for Texel where the large ships were waiting to leave for the East Indies. Sometimes waiting for the right wind could take weeks.

Nemo Science Museum with its wonderful, wonderful sun deck, where my co-mentor and I sat for a full hour in the sun waiting for the kids to get back from their lunch break. It was bliss!

A real live East India Company ship. 'Cause us Dutch like to conquer bodies of water.

I *really* pimped this one and I really like the result.

Bell Face and Cait

Bella models her new Reebok sneakers (courtesy of Auntie Larissa) Check the semi-professional over the shoulder look.

Poor little thing has a horrible teething rash on her cheeks but still looks adorable giving Caitlin's Papa bear a cuddle.

Caitlin has one, one Nibit on her finger. *ah-ah-ah* (<- that was a Sesame Street Count impression for those that didn't get it)

And then Daddy showed her how to put them on all her fingers! She wouldn't eat them off of her finger (she took each one off again after the picture) but it was a neat trick.

Bella "walking".

"Hey, who's holding on to me? Oh, it's that one. Hi there!"

Super Aunt keeps an eye on proceedings.

Hello der! She was smiling the whole rest of the time. Honest.

Birthday Girl

Today is my birthday. I had my mom on the phone at 8:45pm -- two minutes before I was actually born, thirty-one years ago.

I had to work today which wasn't unusual -- I have celebrated my birthday at work before -- but it was a bit different because I had parent-teacher talks until 7:30pm and also because I will be having them all week. And it's weird that my parents are going away on holiday tomorrow so I won't even see them in the weekend.

I treated my mentor class to some candies the first hour and then played games with my other two classes today (after they both had a short test; it is my birthday after all) and I treated my colleagues to some cookies and cakies (no actual cake as I couldn't get to a store yesterday). It was all very nice and I kept hearing how this would be the "last time" they could congratulate me on my birthday since I was "leaving them". There are still some who "joke" that they're going to start a petition to keep me at school. They say you never miss the water until it's gone.

The best part of today, though, has been the virtual (literally since it's mostly been via internet) inundation of love and best wishes from all over the world. On MySpace (myspace.com/teachjoanne), on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=842180502), on Hyves (http://joanie28.hyves.nl) and on the 30 Seconds to Mars Forum (http://thirtysecondstomars.forumsunlimited.com/index.php?showtopic=311798). So many lovely birthday wishes from old friends, new friends, people I have yet to meet and people I haven't seen in a very long time. Some managed to reach me on almost all of the different sites! Because, wishing me Happy Birthday once just wasn't enough, apparently! *grin*

Then there were the text messages and "regular" e-mails. My phone kept on getting message after message and my inbox counted 26 new messages when I got home!! I am such a lucky, lucky girl. Er - ... woman. <- I cannot get used to calling myself that.

Then there was also the fabulous package that Jenny had sent me a week ago (or was it longer?) that I got to open when I got home and I would have never guessed the contents but I *love* it!! It couldn't have been more perfect!! I also got a few real cards and a phone call from mom and dad. And a note from the postman that he tried to deliver another package today but there was no one home.

And I have been told there are still more parcels on the way. From all over the world.

So, to conclude -- my 31st birthday may not have been the most conventional. It wasn't the grand surprise-filled party of last year and it wasn't spectacular in any way but it has been, so far, a very special, wonderful, magical day. I feel loved, happy, healthy and on top of the world.

Thank you everyone who contributed to that feeling today
(and any/every other day)

Mood: Sentimental sap
Song: We Have All The Time In The World -- Fun Lovin' Criminals

It's Everybody Else, It Can't Be Me.

I have a low tolerance for people who insist on being victims. And I have an even lower tolerance for the parents that enable that behaviour by supporting the theory that their kid is a victim. A victim of teachers who don't understand their complex child. A victim of stigma. A victim of circumstance. Discriminated, disadvantaged and never given a single chance to prove they were capable.

In actual fact, what it comes down to is that this kid (and his mother - yes, I have a specific set in mind) both believe that he is capable of achieving a diploma at the highest level of Dutch schooling. And all 14 teachers who have taught him this year are wrong about him achieving a level just below that. We are all discriminating him based solely on his attitude. He is the smartest boy alive, no different from other teenage boys (except that his father is in Afghanistan and we should keep that in mind when judging his behaviour).

Now, his attitude is less than exemplary. He's a horrible little boy with a huge chip on his shoulder who believes that if he thinks something, it is right. I dislike that in people, too. He likes to challenge everything teachers say, but refuses to listen to their constructive criticism. Because, to him, it's not constructive; - it's just criticism. And it's wrong. We are all wrong about him. And I am the most wrong. Even though I am the only one who said he was capable of doing the highest level for the subject I teach him.

Yeah, work that one out.

Anyway, this boy and his mother are both, individually, capable of driving me up the wall. With both of them together in this talk, I am amazed I didn't explode. I really can't stand people who insist on blaming everyone else and refuse to look at their own share in events.

But this problem may not be mine for long. Mother wants to take this to my boss (she thinks she can convince a man that has never actually taught her son of her wonderful child's abilities when 14 trained professionals have taught him for two years and found otherwise). And she has already indicated that it would probably be best if I wasn't at that talk with my boss, seeing as she irritated me and we really should keep the boy's best interests in mind and not cloud the situation with our own, personal dislike of each other.

Fine. By. Me. I wish that kid all the luck in the world. Because one day, that world isn't just going to slap him in the face; it's going to bite out a huge chunk and spit it back at him. And he won't see it coming.


*phew* I needed that. :)

In an hour and 20 minutes it's my 31st birthday! Par-tay! Well ... not until the weekend ... I have 18 more talks to go before I get to really kick back and relax. Wish me luck! On the plus side, not all parents are blind.

So Called Celeste at Café 545

Check me out going to gigs all week! Hahaha.

A bunch of us went to Café 545 last night to support our friend Squishy (real name Jeroen) and his band So Called Celeste at the café's metal night. They had never played in Ede before so we had to make a big deal out of it. I'd already seen them play in Amsterdam a couple of times but it was neat to see them on "home turf". Even though I think only Squishy is from Ede.

I have conclusively decided, however, that metal is not really my cup of tea. The only reason I like SCC is because they exhibit an affinity for musicality that very few (local) metal bands do. The other two bands were mostly noise and aggression, SCC had a bit of class and, dare I say it? -- melody.

My pictures of the band are dismal since the lighting was awful. They had a string of Christmas-style lights around the back of the stage area which just confused the heck out of my poor Fuji FinePix.

I did manage to get a bit of video, though, just to let people hear what it was like. The sound isn't nearly as loud as on the night (crank up the volume big time and then multiply by about 100 and you'll get close to the live experience). My butt was vibrating! I kept thinking I was getting text messages on my phone!

I got a chance to talk to my cousin twice removed, Jerry, again last night. He's always so impressed that he can remember me and Jenn from weddings when we were younger and he was a little squirt but we know each other through his oldest friend, Squishy! It's funny how the world works sometimes. It does always take us a few minutes to figure out how many times removed we are. And it gets even more fun when you consider that he is Caitlin and Bella's cousin thrice (?) removed! Hahahaha.

Poor Jerry was supposed to perform with his band that night as well but his guitarist was having issues and pulled out. Jerry was seriously bummed about it.

I had a really good time last night, though, but I am realizing (with my three year Smoke Free anniversary coming up tomorrow) that I really can't stand smoke at all. The smell of me grossed me out when I got home and I left my clothes in the bathroom because they smelled so strongly of cigarettes that I couldn't have them in my room. They do say that ex-smokers are the most sensitive to it. And it's not because it makes me want a cigarette. Far from it. Which, I suppose, is a very good thing. :)

My favourite pictures of the night:

This is Rai (pr. Ray) the lead singer. With a bit of Eric (guitar) in the background. You can also see the lights along the edge that messed with my camera.

Looking at the camera is Jaap (lead guitar) with Davor behind him and the back of Rai's head.

This is Rai's girlfriend and, to my shame, I have forgotten her hame. Kelly? Anyway, she was in for a laugh, as you can see.

This is Eric, post gig watching the next act.

And yet another cracking picture of me and Jenn :)

Company Unwanted and Substitute's Birthday

I love Saturdays. :)

Anyway, last Thursday I went to the Substitute's 20th birthday. Actually, until the day before I went I thought I was just going to a "regular" band performance in the Sub and didn't even realize that it was a big night for the bar I used to practically live in. I am so out of the loop.

The band was great, though! They rocked the crowd that was there completely. At the end of their first half they played my favourite song "I'm Coming Over" and they got the crowd to sing along for a really big part of it. It was so fun. I thought I was filming the whole thing but halfway through the song Maik grabbed my camera off of me and tried to film me. Er ... he got a glimpse but also pressed STOP on the filming. *facepalm* Which, of course, I didn't realize until after the song was over. So I have half of the song. And it's out of sync and won't load to Facebook. *sigh*


I also have a brilliant, albeit sideways, video of people singing and dancing after the gig. It would have been straight except I forgot that you can't tilt video footage. :S

It was a fun night. Great to see some old familiar faces again and just hang out in a bar. Although, I realized very quickly why it was I didn't go there anymore. Drunk people are annoying. Hehe. Jenn and I had a good laugh in the second half and she and Steffie showed me some of their BodyJam moves from the gym. When work settles down I may even join because it looks like a lot of fun.

Niels (lead singer, guitar), Anthony (on drums) and Werner (bass)

Ruben (Hammond and Wurlitzer)

Jennifer and me

Underwhelmed

"She was underwhelmed if that's a word. I know it's not 'cause I looked it up. It's one of those skills that I learned at my school"

I should be overwhelmed considering the amount of work I have put off until (nearly) the last moment again. I feel oddly calm, though. Might be the Herbalife stuff making me high. Whatever.

Tomorrow I tell my colleagues that this is my last year at the OSB. Not really impressed by that. Since there won't be a staff meeting tomorrow (there will be talks about the students but no general meeting), I have been demoted to the break to tell everyone my big news. I am not really impressed by that, either. It just is what it is. I thought I would be very emotional but, so far, I am oddly calm and indifferent. Which should make me a bit sad since I have worked there for 6½ years now.

I haven't heard anything from FairFlex about that school they sent my application to. Should I be worried? It's only been a couple of days. Since I have never done this before I have no basis for comparison. I sent them an e-mail with my mobile phone number -- just to remind them that I am out there. Hopefully I will hear something soon.

I tried arranging a visit with a friend (with benefits) of mine as he has broken his leg (actually, smashed to smithereens is probably more accurate) recently and I realized that I didn't have a free moment until the 28th of April. Not even an evening open. Nada. How depressing. And only a couple of nights are for fun things. The rest is work shit.

On the positive side, the trip to Hungary this summer for Sziget is planned and paid for. From festival ticket to train ticket to hostel for after the festival. It's all arranged and paid for. Which is a relief. Now I just have to plan what to pack in my bright pink duffel bag on wheels. :D

Another positive thing is that I may be going to see Stomp in London this July. With a group of fairly fabulous people. If I can combine it with my trip to see Suze, that'll be even better!

And, of course, my upcoming trip to Edinburgh and London. It's going to be a hectic weekend but I think it'll also be loads of fun, which is always a bonus.

So, with that little bit of sunshine in mind, I will put my mind to report cards (for real this time) and see if I can't get this pesky class finished tonight. Wish me luck!

Asparagus Soup

The first asparagus crops have been harvested! It's much earlier than usual but, since we didn't really have a winter, not too surprising. To celebrate I had some asparagus soup. From a packet, mind, but it was quite good. Except for the green asparagus. That had already gone a bit stringy. And to think, the date on the packet was November 2008. I shudder to think what it would have tasted like then. Ew.

Other than that today has been hugely productive. I tidied my living room, bathroom (complete with cleaning the shower and toilet), cleaned the hallway and my bedroom and I organized all of my paperwork. Then I did the dishes and cleaned the kitty litter. Spent some time cuddling my cats, sorting through my clothes closet and read a few chapters of Pride and Prejudice.

Haven't done a thing about the report cards I still have to write (didn't yesterday, either) or the transcriptions that still need to be done and I haven't graded any of the tests or book reports, either. Who says I encourage stress?

Charlton Heston died. I really have no profound thoughts on that. The only thing that keeps playing in my head is his rather uncomfortable confrontation with Michael Moore in Bowling For Columbine. And the rather cynical thought that they can now take his gun from his cold, dead hands.

It would have been Heath Ledger's 29th birthday last Friday. How odd to think that he's not going to make any more movies. Even now. I wonder what it will be like to watch The Dark Knight.

Okay, I suppose I have stalled enough now (duh). I'll at least get dressed (something I haven't done yet today) and fire up the work laptop so I don't get distracted by the internet.

Fridays I'm in Love...

... with the weekend. Hahaha. Fooled you, didn't I? But before anyone asks, no I am not in love and no I haven't got my eye on anyone either. Ugh. Not nearly enough time for that kind of tomfoolery.

I have spent an absolutely mind-numbing hour and a half today transcribing 22 minutes of a student explaining her answers during a reading test. Do not ask me why I did that, but because of it I have lost the will to live. What a horrible thing to have to do! Plus this kid mumbled like her mouth was full of marbles. Nightmare. And I have 11 more transcriptions to go. Oh joy. Those report cards are looking mighty fine right about now. I may just grade some tests as a treat.

I am supposed to be counting points but I cheated a bit yesterday and then I cheated a lot today. Oops. I guess I'd better start doing my best again or I bought all those vegetables for nothing. In a related aside: those Burger King Smokey BBQ Mountain burgers are really good. Just saying.

I also discovered (by accident) today that there are four trains to my station in the morning instead of the two I thought there were. The reason I learned this is because I missed the train this morning. *ahem* And then, when I got out of the next train in Utrecht to change over, I heard an announcement saying "the 7:58 train to Amsterdam Bijlmer and Schiphol will not be in service today". So in less than half a minute I got excited that there was another train that might get me to work on time and then disappointed that it was cancelled and then I laughed because that was just so typical of the NS. Buuuutt ... it did mean that I could call work and tell them I would be late because my connecting train was cancelled. And not because I forgot my subscription and had to go back home to get it and, in doing that, missed the train. :D Serendipity at its finest.

So anyway, I am basically stalling now to avoid getting back to one of several unpleasant tasks:

1. I could do more transcriptions and feel my brain literally melt while doing it
2. I could write more report cards (and I think we all know how I feel about that now)
3. I could grade grammar tests (oh, the joy is neverending)
4. I could feed the cats (actually, I really need to do that so I will probably stall longer by giving them some chow in a minute)
5. I could tidy up my living room (yeah, right)
6. I could eat (but I have NO points left today)
7. I could drink (but that'll be water since I have NO points left today)
8. *looks around for something else to do* Oh *--sh--*, I should water the plants. Those poor things look awfully droopy. I am amazed they have lived this long, to be honest.

Oh! I just remembered something I read in the newspaper the other day. Single women going to Poland to find a miner husband. And by miner I mean, hard hat, goes into the ground and brings back coal. Coal miner (took me awhile, but I got there). Apparently there are travel companies that plan tours over there. Bus loads of career women go over there to look at the local concentration camp ruins, the mountains and then, to top off the week, they take a tour of the coal mines ... and shop for a man. They had some interviews with success stories and the happy wifeys waiting for their grubby men to come home (apparently they are brown from the coal, not black -- learn something new every day) and they make them a good meal of borsjt or whatever. Apparently the simple life far exceeded nabbing a career man who didn't pay any attention to them. So yeah, I am thinking of going to Poland in the summer. Find me a rugged coal miner man who will dote on me but with whom I will have to employ some kind of sign language in order to communicate. What do you think? No? I have to say, one or two of the guys in the group shot was kind of nummy, though. Probably already taken. *sigh*

Better get to those work related things. (which I wouldn't have to do if I was a Polish coal miner's wife) ;)

That was quick!

So, this morning I sent off an e-mail to FairFlex, the company that specializes in finding jobs for teachers, and this afternoon I get an e-mail on my Blackberry asking when I will be available from since they've found a school for me. They sent me a short blurb about the school and it looks right up my alley. And it's in the area. How fast was that?

All they still needed from me was a copy of my teaching degree since I forgot to attach that to my earlier e-mail. I am really impressed. I was secretly a bit worried that it would be really, really hard to find a job and that I might be unemployed at the beginning of the next school year.

So I checked my savings and did a little math. Turns out, if worst comes to worst ... I have 11½ months wages on my savings. So I could go a year without working if I want. Now, how's that for a cool thing to know??

I got my Herbalife stuff from Jenn today. I will start on all the pills and stuff tomorrow. I wonder what kind of effect it'll have. I hope it'll give me more energy, anyway. I hate sleeping in the train all the time. I hate yawning and I am really tired of being tired.

Report cards are going slow but faster than they normally do. I have a class more or less finished already with a second one lined up to be finished before I go to bed. Which would be seriously cool. To not be doing ALL of them in the weekend. I usually didn't manage finishing them either and ended up writing like a mad woman all the way up to the last second when they had to be handed out to the students.

I still have loads to do and I am way behind on my research stuff but you know what ... I find it hard to care. It'll get done. Probably last minute but I am leaving that school and they will miss my chaotic ass. Because chaotic as I may be, at least I always know what's going on! Hehe.

Mood: Optimistic
Song: We Are the Champions ~ Queen

Wonky Wednesday

Right, so I haven't written a single report card yet and I am very tired and dopey.

I got home from work at 2:30pm today (we get to leave earlier to give us time to write reports) and I fell asleep on the couch. I only woke up at around 4pm to get up and go to bed where it was comfier. Then I got up at 7:30.

I've eaten something and I'm at the computer. The report files are open and I should be ready to go but I am *so* lethargic I just can't get to it. Maybe in an hour ...

Procrastination

I have some mad skills when it comes to procrastinating. For example, when I am finished playing with this blog thing, I will most likely feel the need to vacuum (yes, vacuuming is far more fun than writing report cards). Then I will most likely check the 30 Seconds to Mars forum again for new posts. Then I will turn on MSN and AIM in the hope that someone hits me up for a chat.

Maybe I will fill in some easy, grade stuff on a class' worth of students (I have 104 reports to write. Full pages per student). I might decide after that that I have done enough and turn on the TV to zap for a bit. Or crank up some music. Might e-mail someone. Who knows? Anything but work on those report cards.

On a school related note, I handed in my letter of resignation today. It was a bit odd since the principal, who I had to hand it in to, is also leaving at the end of this school year. So we were both looking at each other like -- Yeah, what do we say? So we kept it short and simple. She'd copy the letter for the necessary people and she wished me luck in all my future endeavours.

Now I just have to tell the rest of my colleagues.

After work I dropped by my parents' place to see if my CV (from 7 years ago) was still on their computer or on a diskette somewhere. Nope. Nada. So I'll need to write a new one. 7 years worth of experience to add to it. Time flies.

It was fun at my parents' place. Caitlin and I ended up in their loft playing with my old Lego stuff. I had a ball (it was also part of my procrastination ploy as I was only supposed to dash in and out but instead I stayed for two and a half hours). We built an appartment over the existing garage and I did a whole kitchen thing. Caitlin was fascinated by the little mailbox with envelopes that came ready made.

But yeah, eventually I had to go and now I am here. Blogging. And I am annoyed that it isn't obvious how to change my layout. It's like freaking MySpace. I wonder if I can remember what site I used to change my MySpace layout. Hmmmm ...

Watch this space.

Getting Started

Okay, so I am supposed to be writing report cards and then I get an e-mail from Kyndra's blogspot informing me of an update ... so I go to read it ... and then I think "Hey! This is pretty cool -- I want one". So here I am.

Need to get a bit of handle on how to pimp this thing, though.