Learning something new every day...

Visa. I have one.

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:32:44 GMT

Just so I've put it on EVERY website I can...

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 05:14:31 GMT

6th January. 88 days.

WWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-HHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

9 weekends

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 22:03:00 GMT

Well burger me. Looking at my calendar and whatnot, I seem to have a scant 9 free weekends left between now and the Great Migration.

If you were moving to Nz, what would you do with that free time? I'm curious what people's suggestions would be...

This morning in pictures.

Sun, 14 Sep 2008 21:46:52 GMT

yet another goddamn climbing injury....

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 19:11:24 GMT

My elbow this time. Fell off an overhang on tuesday, held on with my right arm and pulled myself back on. All very heroic, but it's been giving me shooting pains up m arm ever since. Decided to go climbing tonight, just to see if I could work it out, but now it's REALLY sore.

Idiot.

Mog challenge day 3

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 21:50:49 GMT

Went for food and arcade games with Mike this evening- was really nice to properly hang out, as opposed to just annoying him in the shop.
One of the teachers at the school I'll be working at in NZ has offered to put me up for a few weeks while I sort myself out, and pick me up from the airport. I'm bowled over by her kindness :)

Mog challenge day 2

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 16:21:40 GMT

Planning the move to NZ. I can't stop thinking about it, researching it, looking up new and wonderful things I'll do out there. Four months seems a very long time but I'm sure it'll go really quickly.
Going climbing tonight, which I love. I'm now climbing 6As, which is great!

Taking up the Mog challenge

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 18:12:36 GMT

Today I felt happy when...

I found one of my first years looking all distressed and upset because she wouldn't be able to pick her sister up from school and got in a fankle about it. I took her to the office, spoke to the women in there and they sorted it all out for her. Taking her to her class when she was all happy because a teacher had looked out for her and sorted something out made me feel pretty good about my job
All my first years answered the register by saying "Kia ora!" after I taught them a little Maori
I got home to have an hour or so to myself after a really long day

The Great Rozi Clearout part 2

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 14:10:05 GMT

Here it is folks, all the DVDs that are fit to print. I've priced them up, the boxsets are slightly less or the same as you'd get them second hand from amazon, single DVDs I've priced at a fiver or I'll accept sensible offers. Priority to Glasgow types.

Box Set

Alien Quadrilogy box set £15

Indiana Jones box set £25

Marx Brothers box set/Duck Soup £25

Desperado three-film box set £10

Secret Policeman’s Ball box set £15

Family Guy Season Six £10

£5 for each DVD

Pink Floyd: The Wall

Pink Floyd: Pulse concert DVD

Apollo 13 Special Edition

Goodbye Lenin

Romper Stomper

Full Metal Jacket

Bombon el Perro

Farenheit 9/11

The Crow

The Right Stuff: Special Edition

Tom and Jerry: Classic Collection

Amelie

Finding Nemo

Wallace and Gromit: 3 Cracking Adventures

Don’t Look Now

Ghostbusters

Glengarry Glen Ross

Fight Club: Special Edition

Secretary

The Simpsons Movie

The Merchant of Venice

Flash Gordon: Silver Anniversary Edition

The Terminator: Special Edition

k, eh?

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 16:06:52 GMT

So, last lesson. Third year, social ed. Someone has kindly hidden all my resources for social ed, so I hit upon the idea of showing them some of "Who do you think you are?", all about Jerry Springer discovering what happened to his family in the Holocaust. It has everything. A celebrity they know, drama, a chance to learn about the human cost of the Holocaust.

Two minutes in....

"Miss, what's this we're watching?"

"It's about the Holocaust"

"Whit's that?"

"Erm, you know, the murder of millions of innocent people by the Nazis in WW2. Haven't you heard of it?"

"Naw"

So, I do my civic duty, and try to explain about the Holocaust. Now, I wasn't in school that long ago, but I'm damn sure if a teacher was showing me something lke that and telling me about the factory-line slaughter of millions, I'd sit up and take note. But no, these kids didn't see what all the fuss was about. Some choice quotes...

"But it happened pure ages ago"

"Aye, and it wisnae even in Scotland"

Me- "It happened in your grandparents lifetime, in a country like ours, to people like us. It's important we learn about it so it can never happen again".

"Aye, but it willnae though, will it? They Jews wernae us, and it happened in pure olden days. Can we no watch Jeremy Kye instead? He's way better than Jerry Springer".

Fuck. Sake. It's not often a class leaves me speechless, but this nearly made me want to sit down and cry.

Let's hope they never come for the wasters, for who would speak up for them?

Would you marry this dude?

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 20:37:40 GMT

Well, who wouldn't?

"Quick Disqualification List "

You cuss/swear and/or have a potty mouth.
You are not thin or slim.
You smoke or do drugs.
You drink more than a glass of wine a day or drink any other liquor.
You cannot walk seven (7) miles non-stop averaging 1 mile per 20 minutes and without drinking or eating anything during the walk.
You have to go to the bathroom more than once during a four hour date where we first have dinner at a restaurant then see a movie.
Your attitude is not respectful, humble and kind.
You have any communicable diseases.
You are looking for a well to do man who will provide you with a life of little work and lots of leisure and play. I am not looking for a whore, I am not a "Sugar Daddy". All girls seeking a "Sugar Daddy" are whores.
You are a party girl or one that craves attention or has to be the center of attention.
Staying in fashion is important to you.
You are a vegetarian, that is, you do not eat meat or fish.
You have an unhealthy love of animals, you believe they have a soul, you give them equal or more importance than people.
You desire to pursue your own career, even after marriage"

I love the internet

ROFL

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 20:19:49 GMT

Tonight is my party

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 13:08:25 GMT

...and Gus is, in fact leaving very soon.

I would love to see you all here tonight to say bye to him and have a few drinks.

Clearing Out

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 16:17:32 GMT

Looking at my stuff, and I realise that I can't really take any of my books with me to the Far Side. So, here's a list of every book I own. If you would like one, leave a comment, and when you see me next, you can take it away. I'm not going to charge for any of them, but if you wanted to make a donation to the Rozi's Exiling Herself Fund, then that would be lovely. I would give them to a charity shop, but some of these books mean a lot to me, and I would rather they went ot really good homes. If you want any info about any titles, let me know!

Alex Gray- The Riverman

Suite Francais- Irene Nemirovsky

The Cold Six Thousand/ LA Confidential- James Ellroy

Voyage of the Star Wolf- David Gerrold

The Periodic Table/If This is a Man- Primo Levi

Call the Midwife- Jennifer Worth

Learn to Drive/The Driving Manual

The Game of Thrones (all 4 books)- George R.R. Martin (gone to Pit)

Falling Leaves- Adeline Yen Mah

Last Chance to See- Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine

The Interpretation of Murder- Jed Rubenfield

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance- Robert M. Pirsig - Fay

The Ultimate Motorcycle Encyclopaedia- Billy- send to Staargate

The Sacred Art of Stealing/Boiling a Frog/One Fine Day in the Middle of the Night- Christopher Brookmyre

Close Range: Brokeback Mountain and other stories/Bad Dirt- Annie Proulx

QI: The Book of General Ignorance

Night Watch- Terry Pratchett

Gates of Fire- Stephen Pressfield

The Dandelion Clock- Guy Burt

Does Anything Eat Wasps?- New Scientist

Bloodtide- Melvin Burgess

Horrble Science: Nasty Nature/Vicious Veg/Gobsmacking GAlaxy

The Right Stuff (paperback, old)- Tom Wolfe

2010: Odyssey Two- Arthur C Clarke

Samira and Samir- Siba Shakir

The Handmaid’s Tale/ Oryx and Crake- Margaret Atwood- Gone to Gus

The Stories of Eva Luna- Isabel Allende

A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian- Marina Lewycka

Don’t Know Much About the Universe

Lonely Planet: Europe on a Shoestring/Hawaii

City of the Sun- Sarah Bryant

Moondust- Andrew Smith

Smoke and Mirrors- Neil Gaiman (Graeme Job- September)

A Wild Sheep Chase/Dance Dance Dance- Haruki Murakami

The Infinite Book- John D. Barrow

An Obsession With Butterflies- Sharman Apt Russell

Statistics for People who (think they) hate statistics- Neil J. Salkind

How To Dunk a Donut: The Science of Everyday Life- Len Fisher

The Lovely Bones- alice Sebold

David Attenborough: Life on Air

Our Fragile World- Troth Wells and Caspar Hudson

The First Fifty- Muriel Gray

The New Complete Guide to Sewing

Organic Chemistry: Tenth Edition (brand new!)- Fay’s friend

Learning to Teach Science in the Secondary School- ed. Jenny Frost

Lenore: Wedgies/Noogies- Roman Dirge

Experimental Design for the Life Sciences: Second Edition- Graeme D. Ruxton

Playboy: The Playmate Book (HUGE)

Biology: Fifth Edition- Campbell Fay’s Friend

HTML & XHTML: The Definitive Guide- O’Reilly

The Haunter of the DArk- H.P Lovecraft Omnibus

There will be a DVD list and such going up soon....

updated 2252, 12/08

Yet another frickin' birthday

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 14:27:38 GMT

Yeah, mine. I'll be 25 (quarter century! Woo!) on Thursday, and really don't think I can handle massive drunkeness after Saturday's excesses. So, I'll be in PJ Champs on Byres Road from about 8pm, having a few drinks and losing at pool. Feel free to come down and laugh at my lack of skillz.

Reminds me of someone...

Sun, 25 Nov 2007 22:59:52 GMT

...and some really sad news

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 22:58:27 GMT

Found out today that Emmett (Ringolevio), a guy I only met a few times but wish I'd known better, died yesterday aged 40. On urban he was one of the first people I met, always smiling, always happy to help you or share what he had. Most ot the times I met him we were in some filthy squat party, sharing something illegal and having a laugh or a dance, so we never really talked beyond the basic munted silliness, but it was clear what a sound guy he was. I wish I'd got to know him better. A lot of my friends are really grieving tonight, and I'm trying to be there for them as much as I can.

He leaves behind a daughter and grandaughter, and a lot of friends and acquaintances. London seems a lesser place for his passing.

Safe journey mate.

why did I see this and think of Richard?

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 23:59:40 GMT

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 17:01:47 GMT

Became ravenous about an hour ago. I am now full of pizza and feel I may have inhaled it a little too quickly...

Oh, and channel 4 on demand is great!

last night in pictures....

Sun, 11 Nov 2007 19:57:19 GMT

Plasma cat....

Gaysus, watching over us with his great brown eye....

Over there! A....thing, of some kind.....

It was good, I am tired. Four more nights of silliness with these guys before the move. Sigh. On the plus side, Tom and Fay are up for New Year! It is good.

Earliest year meme yet?

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 20:54:40 GMT

Indulge me, I'm bored and it's either this or job hunting or marking (2 hours done tonight)

This is madness!

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 21:54:55 GMT

And it's nothing like sparta

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 19:38:24 GMT

I was going to post about the choices I have to make and why I'm not the happiest kitten in the burlap sack, but I have this much marking to do...

so it can wait. That's 20 books, 60 year 10 physics tests, 120 year 8 tests, and 20 A-level essays on cancer.

Yay.

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 22:24:19 GMT

Student told me a fucking pathetic teacher who shouldn't be in school, as he stormed out my classroom after giving me nothing but cheek and hassling me. Just what I needed, and that's before the three and a half hours I spent marking this evening.

Seriously, fuck this.

On a totally unrelated note...

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 21:58:25 GMT

Dubstep is the music they listen to in the underground sex clubs that you knew existed in Blade Runner, but weren't in the final cut. I'm listening to some now (cheers crisps!) and it's rather unsettling, I think in a good way.