de-lurk

According to Niobe today is De-lurking day, so if you read, please leave me a little message, it would really make my week!

Who's speeded up time

The start of today feels like it happened in a different year, possisbly even decade. Somehow today has just been too busy, PGCE today was a bit full, this afternoon was packed with useful information. I trudges back up the big hill, which I swear is getting steeper, to run straight back out again to go to Rainbows. Even Rainbows wasn't long enough. We should have had loads of time to do the activity, but we're actually going to have to finish off next week. We made recordings of them saying a short bit about themselves, eye colour, hair colour etc. and then were meant to play them back and guess who it was. We didn't finish the play back, I had promised I'd finish off next meeting, but it means taking my laptop in again, and will mean we rush next weeks activity, so I really don't want to, however I feel that if I promise them something I should stick to my word.... so at the end of that mass of consciousness what should I do?

On an even more depressing not I watched a great documentary when I finally sat down, Stephen Fry:HIV and Me. Now Stephen Fry is one of my most favourite people on TV, and he is just such a wonderfully compassionate guy. He never seems false, and somehow manages to be funny in the oddest situations. Now while he doesn't have HIV, as a 50 year old gay man he has watched many friends die of AIDS. He discussed current attitude in the UK, met a teenager who was infected at birth, but is open about her HIV status, and her attitude was just breathtakingly wonderful. he also went to South Africa and I'm still reeling from what he found out. The South African government acknowledges you get HIV from unprotected sex, but then says there is no link between HIV and AIDS. According to them having HIV is completely unrelated to the fact that eventually you die of AIDS, and even more scarily 1000 people a day die of AIDS.

and on the seventh day she rested... or not

And so the first week is done. So far I'm waiting to find my stride, you know and really get in to the course. I'm adjusting to the 9.30-4.30 days better than I thought, yes they are pitiful in comparison to a real job, but when you've had a year when your contact hours maxed out 6, doing that amount in a day is odd!
I know where I'm going for my first placement and I'm happy with it, I'm not going to say where it is though, I think that might be wise! I'm also loving the rugby world cup, in the past week as it's all started to get serious about who progresses to the next round things have really hotted up. Matches have started to get interesting, and somehow more competitive. However I am still doing dreadfully with my fantasy league team. Some of us on UKClimbing have set one up here, we did the same for the 6 Nations and I did far far better. As the only female I am determined not to come last, but at the moment that's looking likely!
This weekend I've already driven about 400 miles, my parents just backpacked the Yorkshire Dales way, and needed to get back to the start to collect the car. They looked in public transport but it was really complicated, and really expensive, so they paid me to drive up from Sheffield to pick them up. That took most of today, 3 hours to Windermere, 1 and a half to Ilkley and another hour home. Only to go shopping and wonder why people were shopping as if Nuclear war had been declared. Eventually I got home without half the things I wanted as they'd sold out.
Tomorrow is Freshers climb, and that day starts at 7am, now thats earlier than I get up on a weekday, what happened? still I get to spend the whole day climbing, taking the piss out of my younger brother, and meeting friends. We then get to go for a nice meal after to celebrate not killing anybody, or a successful sending to hospital of those that do decide to hurt themselves!

Thank You

This is going to be a post of gratefulness, I seem to spend too much time moaning about things, but actually I have a lot to be happy about.
Cecily, at I wasted all that birth control has a post up about health care in the US, when you realise that getting a broken arm fixed cost her Mom $1000 (£500), and that medical treatment was on a n emergency only basis , I'm so grateful for the NHS. I've probably always been in a situation where I could afford insurance, but so many people in the US can't, and George Bush appears to want to stop what little help is already available. Imagine being in a situation where your child is ill, but you can't take them to the doctor because you can't afford it?
For that reason I'm grateful for the NHS, because despite it faults, long waiting lists, MRSA, etc. at least treatment is available for all no matter their income.
I'm also grateful for my opportunities, I've just started my PGCE to train to be a teacher, in many countries I wouldn't get that opportunity. I'd have been unable to gain a degree, or even get educated.

So next time I feel pissed off about this country (including how much money I owe the government), I'll try to remember these things, it's not such a bad place to live!

they grow up so fast

I have just helped move my little brother in to his university accommodation. Like me he's come to Sheffield, unlike me, his accommodation is newly built. So new that the builders' take away was still in the kitchen, and the outside is still a building site!
It is all very nice and new though, with an en-suite bathroom (I didn't have one), and a flat socialising area. I'm a little jealous, after all three years ago this was me, and life wasn't nearly so scary back then.
In a years time I will have got a job, be in a new flat in I'm not quite sure where. I'll be paying back my student loan, which I think currently stands at about £30,000, not helped by them doubling the interest rate for this year. It's supposed to be at the same rate as inflation, now if inflation is at 4.8% then the economy is in big trouble. Its bad enough that the grant system our parents and everyone else enjoyed untill the mid 90s was abolished, it's even worse that they're ripping off people who have no other options by doing this. If you're a UK resident you can sign one of those 10 downing street petitions here.

In which he was allowed to live

Blimey, how has it been over a week since I last posted???? In truth life has got busier, but there still isn't a whole lot going on. I have finally started my teaching course. I've just spent one week in school, and am part way through my second week. It's a lovely school, but christ they're little.

Doing history and maths is fun, but I had forgotten how much English lessons turned me off. I guess I'm a scientists through and through but I love me a bit of logic, and scientific method, and experimenting, and finding something amazing out. I'll never be happy until I understand everything, and as there are some very clever people out there who still are puzzled by some stuff that's never going to happen, but in a good way.

As a side note if you like science, or even if you don't but feel you should know more read Bill Bryson, A short history of nearly everything. It is the best science book I have ever read.

Anyway school, I think a separate blog will have to be started up, so much funny stuff, but as I write this with my real name, and publish it on Facebook, I probably can't share lots of it.
Anyway I'm in a delightful Primary school, in an affluent neighborhood, on the whole the kids behave themselves. I've not heard any threatening or really nasty behaviour, just the usual rudeness. One child should be lucky thon is allowed to live, thon constantly asks stupid questions, interrupts, talks when thon shouldn't be, and is just so annoying. By the end of yesterday both me and the teacher could have happily wrung thons little neck! The child is so laid back about incurring our displeasure it's untrue.

Sport of Men

The rugby world cup has started, this brings back so many memories. The last time it happened was 4 years ago in Australia. I was doing volunteer work in an animal sanctuary in Thailand. This time is in France, so the timing is much better for us in the UK, getting up at 7am to watch sport is beyond the call of duty.
I love rugby players, so much better than football (soccer) players, these are real men. None of the swearing at the ref, they all love their Mum, respect each other, but you still wouldn't want to meet them down a dark alley (well depending on who it was ;-) )

For any Americans reading this if you like sport check out rugby, it's like American football, without the body armor, and without the funny number shouting (can you tell I don't get the rules!). Plus they've started wearing tight jerseys, and for the most part, oh my!




Edited to add- the first match is over, England have been rubbish, the USA on the other hand have been good and really put their hearts in to it. We'll need to play better against the Samoans, and even more scarily the South Africans. We still won though.