Miscellaneous November

Three things:

1. Mental health concerns. I had them, and when I was spending some of the half term holidays completing online training for my job, I all but confirmed that I had signs of burnout. The question is, then what? As an adult, especially once who has been at the rodeo of depression before, I am somewhat comforted by the knowledge that I can do things about my situation and hopefully it will improve. However. The last time I faced this, while I was learning about depression and anxiety, I was also in a situation where I had a very loose timetable and could do appointments almost whenever and had extra brainspace for eg CBT. I could work around the timetable of the professionals. Receiving treatment was new, but very possible.

Right now I’m alternately confused about my duties for work (but trying my best and using feedback to power on), and Just So TIRED. The obstacle is now finding a solution that can work around me. This is a work in progress.

2. As a young person, I remember November being the dreary month of Very Little between October and December. The slump between the warmer end on autumn and the Christmas month. Now it has somehow become that essential month where we are now embedded in the rhythm of the academic year, and I almost wish it were longer (because there’s so much content I need to squeeze in for the kids, ahh!). November, I embrace you.

3. Literacy for old and young. Right now there is a big literacy drive in schools. One thing I am trying to encourage my charges to do, is to look up words they don’t know. But! As a person who likes words, I somehow fell off the bandwagon with doing this myself. So I am trying to clamber back on, and am looking up words that I encounter, whose meaning I am uncertain about. This can be totally new words, or words whose meaning I inherently know, but can’t explain to somebody else. (I had this issue with “inflammation” the other day.)

Anyhow. It’s cold and we have black ice on the roads here. Take care out there, and see you in December!

April Check In

[Insert N’Sync “it’s gonna be me” meme.]

Mood: more often than not, good! Or at least neutral. No. Actually good. Spring, brighter days, the promise of warmer temperatures (only visible through the more thriving flora in my backyard jungle so far – I had to scrape my windscreen the other morning) seems to be doing it’s usual job of lifting spirits.

Energy: still low. However, I would put this down to illness. Speaking of…

Reflections on work: working while ill is killer. And I’ve been ill a lot. Otherwise, my self-reflections/targets are moving to their “final form” for the year. Eg finally settling on strategies for my most challenging classes, and feeling even more at ease (touch wood – let’s not jinx it) with the classes who är coming around to me. I am also putting strategies in place to hopefully make me a better colleague haha. I don’t think I’m a colleague from hell! But there is ways room for improvement. Onwards and upwards. And hopefully I will get healthier and stay well.

Social life? : I did manage to see friends and go out more during the Easter holidays. And my weekends are gradually getting reclaimed. I do have big plans for the summer though, and I better be checking in next time to say that I have booked and confirmed trips!

Anything else?

1) I was undecided about striking all the way until I left the house the other day. I wanted to be in for my classes who have exams soon (and just students in general), but I do believe in the rationale of and reason for striking (funding so that the same pot of money for schools doesn’t have to be split between staff, students, and now the rising cost of fuel). My colleague helpfully put an optimistic spin on it though : either decision was a good decision.

2) We really need to make talks about menstruation more of the norm, both in schools and elsewhere. In a sensible way, of course. And I know that change will take time. But the way that being on your period is somehow still stigmatised despite being both natural, healthy, and common? Urgh.

3) Very much into vanlife content on YouTube right now.

Take care of yourselves in the changing weather!

May Update

Tomatoey Thai Red chicken curry. Probably a little bit bastardised.

The end is within sight? On the course that is. I feel somewhat proud that I did keep up with my teaching duties alongside three university assignments, job-seeking (and job-getting!) and trying to have something of a life outside of the course.

Observations from the past month, non-work version:

I evidently needed fun this month. Eurovision was a very welcome break amidst all of it.

I need to get on top of batch-cooking. Eating makeshift lunches doesn’t agree with me if it’s every day.

First dentist appointment in two and a half (ish) years. Let’s hope everything is fine.

Birthday coincides with platinum jubilee celebrations. Shall I just pretend it’s all for me?

I am still rationing the number of new pieces of clothing I am purchasing this year. One piece a month. Max. But they do roll over. I own an overlocker now, so I feel like I have more scope upcycling second-hand pieces. But I have to actually browse for them first?

We went from still-winter-adjacent to lovely spring to rainy season. Fingers crossed murphy’s law means that we’ll be back to lovely weather when the next half term starts.

And those are this month’s meandery thoughts. I’m obviously suffering academentia again.

Be well, everyone!

A full month in…

Hands are cracked.

Brain is tired.

Not really enough energy left to blog.

But on the whole.

Good vibes.

And that will do.

Sunday updates

Happy Halloween! For those of you celebrating in any way please stay safe! I have neither costume nor pumpkin, but I have treats in the event of trick-or-treaters, and that will be me for this year.

This week has been half-term holidays, and next week I (re-)debut in front of a class teaching science. This means that the “holiday” has been spent trying to rest up a little, and working on my teaching material. I happened to have joined my placement school as they’re reaching the end of a teaching and learning cycle, and they’re due for assessments (exams). Which in turn means that my first job is doing revision sessions. This is fine. However, I think my engagement persona is kicking in, and it always wants activities to be fun and engaging, and not just chalk-and-talk, even though I know that young people do have the capacity to absorb chalk-and-talk for a decent length of time before needing a break. It also happens that I have to start with biology, which is not my forte. And refreshing the bulk of KS4 biology in the course of a week or so is tough!

However, science for young people is my MO, and was already my MO when I started this blog 12 years ago. Let’s make it happen.

It’s getting colder, and the days are getting shorter (daylight savings or not). Take care, drink lots of hot beverages, and if in doubt, always take that extra layer.