For a variety of reasons yesterday was not the best. When things are tricksome like that I do find myself hiding into drawing and this is what came out of my computer, twice. The first time the package crashed near completion losing all my work (the former being the softwares fault the latter mine), the second time it did crash again but I’d saved it close enough to the end to catch up and complete to a point where I was happy to go to sleep.

Anyhow, today? Dunno, will see. Do feel that my life’s just taken a 180 turn by being hit in the face but I’ve said that before and that’s when I got into teaching, maybe the next turn will be equally interesting.

Loooooooong time coming…

Ahem.

Said goodbye to one of my classes yesterday – the first of four groups I’ll see off this academic year – I’m only taking one class into next year – and it was a sad day! Was surprised but they’ve been an interesting group Five more weeks and then it’ll be head down planning the next lot.

Apart from that? Survived Ofsted College received a 2 overall, which is good, and our department was given a 3 which is satisfactory. They did say that if we had the results in and they were as projected we’d have had a 2.

Directly after my friday class ran off to get a train to Esher for the CBC show. Was good. Nice to see some old friends and some near neighbours. Had a lovely chat with someone who offered some very kind words on my writing (and to boot he had excellent taste in music too and beat me hands down for classic gigs attended…) so was glad to have been there. Dashed straight back to get to an exhibition of student artwork and then dashed from that to the pub where the tutors I work with were drinking the stress away. By this point it was about 6. They’d been in there an hour.

Oh boy.

Let’s just say that it was messy from then and only got messier… Some lovely chats and conversations though. Was glad I didn’t overimbibe though because we bumped into a number of students in the garden, one of whom had phoned in sick that day. Was glad to have the opportunity to stop by and say ‘glad to see you looking better’…

Apart from that? Hmmm nothing springs to mind, although there’s probably been loads. Big Buzz Out Loud fan so was amused to be namechecked twice in a week, sort of kind of. On monday I’d emailed in re: Chip and Pin. In Guildford a petrol station had moved the security cameras to film people putting in their pin numbers and been responsible for £1mill of fraud. To the best of my knowledge this doesn’t seem to be a hugely unusual circumstance as there often seems to be a story about some sort of card fraud of some sort. Anyhow I emailed in to say I didn’t really like Chip and Pin (for that reason) and they misread it and said one guy was paranoid about being filmed… ((I’m not paranoid… It’s not parano…Hang on, did the light on my isight camera just flash? Is it on? Anyhow… where was I?)) So I re-explained with web link about specific and there you go. Listen to it for years and then twice in a week get a vague mention… Funny old world.

In terms of turbulence the trickiest part of the week was definitely youth group. Was not there because of the aforementioned teacher mash up but left the pub at midnight to find four texts I’d not noticed come in. Turns out a kid who’d been asked not to come back until asked had turned up with a friend (we have a closed register to try and keep a track on numbers at the mo’). They were asked to leave, left using some specific language and hand gestures before we could phone a parent to explain (it was raining so we try and offer kids the chance to get lifts back if they’re not let in) and later the dad came round for a row. In fifteen years I can count the amount of times that his has happened on just over one hand but it always affects you when it does. So we’ll be there on friday as normal and I’ll be on door. I dare say it’ll calm down – nearly always does – but shame to end the half term on a barny especially as the people he shouted at in no way deserved it.

So, um, yeah. Busy week. Onwards. Teaching twice today then sleep, glorious sleep

((not that I often look back on these things but a band I wear bit the dust this week which made me sad for a couple of reasons. Again most know that I’m a huge fan of the wonderful band Onehundredhours. This band was one I picked up when they did a launch gig for my first book and has been worn ever since. In fact I’ve got an engage band on both wrists, one old and one new. Anyhow it snapped and has gone elsewhere… (Now I’m just down to five It’s not an omen or something I’m superstitious about at all, but it did remind me about a good time in the past and remind me about how little energy I feel I have at the moment. Also: if you’re looking for a charity to support, even if only for a while, I can recommend www.engagehivaids.com give ‘em a look, throw ‘em some love.))

Unless they’re gonna REALLY surprise us tomorrow… We’ll see.

We’ve had advance word about what the full and final score will be and the Principle of the college will be telling us how it went in a chinwag which is due at the same time as I have to be in Esher so I’ll miss that one.

Ah well…

Still, we put on a good show in the art dept so yay us

Onwards. CBC tomorrow then celebratory drinks in the evening and then sleep, glorious sleep….

So Ofsted into day 4. Haven’t heard from some people so don’t know who has and has not been observed. If I’m going to be done this afternoon is the most likely time but they’re a good group so with a bit of luck I’ll survive

Do set up an exhibition of work with the tech on saturday and here it am. Sure it’s allowed to post and did well with the restricted time we had (3 hours) and restricted space (two tables worth). Also was restricted in other ways – we wanted to put up loads of work – we had way more examples that could have been put up – but were ordered to go for a more restrained look. Personally I don’t think the boards were pristine enough for that but hey ho. Them’s the orders…

Want to get in there and take a couple of pics post ofsted to see how they left it but we’ll see…

Sort of kind of. Ofsted starts tomorrow and, even though I’m not teaching, I’ll end up in all day I’m a guessing. Did doodle this earlier when I had to take a break from paperwork and the rest. Have fun next week everyone, I’m not sure I will……

OK so work is calling but I NEED to do something unrelated, if only for a few minutes. Today was great, teaching wise, as all of the students seemed to come out of the lesson with a good image bar a couple of students who understood why it didn’t work for them (didn’t follow the steps in the correct order which, in itself is a valuable lesson to learn)…

Also pleasant was the fact that as I was going through the lesson I was showing the steps piece by piece and that image came out pleasantly so uploaded it is and then off to a meeting that’s gonna last for hours…

…just not loads of time to do so… Will do a fuller update soon but, as these things are bouncing around my mind a couple of updates: a blogged twitter if you will.

((and I dislike Twitter incidentally. I did sign up, and may come around to it, but as soon as I got a sign on confirmation and viewed the starter page I  realised that it was very much not for me)).

SO:

House of Heroes: The End is not the End. Only available in the States at the moment but this band impressed me like no other a number of years ago when they released their House of Heroes CD (not apparently their debut which I mistakenly thought it was). The content was… obtuse… but the execution was fabulous. And then they went quiet and I followed their myspace, downloaded a couple of demos, and finally the follow up cd is out and it is a total cracker. It’s pretty much been my sole soundtrack to the past weeks chaos and it’s a blast. Well worth the attention. Some CDs make me want to grab a guitar and learn to play and this is very much in that realm. Raven is my song of the year, possibly the past few years in fact. The last song that grabbed me this much was a fabulous Five Iron Frenzy song whos name I can’t remember off hand for the mo’ but will add later.

Also; just recieved the proof of another book and it looks pretty cool. Will post about that later (sorry) just noticed the time and I’m teaching at 10 with the ICT group. Onwards.

SO the weekend was pretty busy all told. Mum’s day took priority of course so Saturday was taking daughter out to buy things and Sunday was the normal cook, clear up and all that jazz. Was fun, except for the washing machine breaking down which meant all jobs cooking wise were doubled at short notice

We even found time to buy a new hamster, now named Totoro, because, again, daughter had been pining for one. We’d lost one to old age about a month or so back and she’d saved up her birthday money and that’s what she wanted to buy.

When we got to the garden centre that sold small animals we found there were only two in: a chinese hamster which was very small and very cute and another that had a sign on the cage which said ‘requires special care’. When asked it turned out that someone else had bought it, not treated it brilliantly and returned the hamster in a bit of a nippy state. Instantly daughter was insistent that that was the one we had to have and, a couple of days in, Totoro seems a little calmer and happier so that’s good. Daughter read her a book the other day and I’m not saying she listened attentively but she didn’t go to sleep through it so that’s good then.

Apart from that I’ve now moved into full time at the college pretty much split between visual arts and ICT. Which is a funner mix than I thought it sounded at the beginning. Shame there’s no planning time built in but then again there never has been anyhow and, for the next two weeks I’m delivering someone else’s lesson plans anyhow (which has its own pitfalls but hey, saves on the schemes) and it’s not until after Easter that things hot up in both departments.

IN fact it’s time to get onto the next job I notice: onwards.

Recently I’ve been taking the classes I teach out to the college cafeteria. This is not because I’m a shameless exhibitionist or egotist but because I want the guys and gals to be aware of the zone. Sometimes there’s a place we find ourselves in where the creativity and joy springs forth easiest and that feeling is something I wanted them to find. For some being in a crowded, noisy cafe was unhelpful for the creative process, for others it was liberating.

It got me thinking about where my zones are. Predominantly my zone is the bus to and from work which I have sat on, off and on, for 15 years or so now. I’m such a regular that I can anticipate the bumps and corners and write, draw and edit in a pretty smooth fashion. Better still I appreciate the difference in pace and the lack of people talking to me. My other zone is rapidly becoming the local Wetherspoons pub which I’ve taken to going to in a morning, grabbing a coffee or two and sitting in a space that has excellent natural light and visibility. It’s an up and down thing: to see grown men sitting and drinking heavily at 10 am or so and talking with the volume that drink unlocks is a sad thing, the architectural feat that the pub has achieved is a good one. It’s been a pleasant place to me more than not though. 

Lastly the other place is moderately less accessible but possibly my favourite place: the East Beach Cafe in Littlehampton who’s size belies the fascination I have for it. I wish it were closer because I’ve been there only on family holidays and not felt able to spend a concerted amount of time sitting in it and writing but one day I’d love to have a clear sweep of a day or so to sit and write with no other calls on my time. One project that I would LOVE to get onto came specifically from an hour long coffee break there and if I pursued the project more it would feel fitting to do so in the cafe for an amount of time.

The East Beach Cafe from the outside

... and from the inside.

What I had forgotten was that music also inspires a zone for me, with editing and drawing more than writing. There are various rules I have to follow for it to be successful though: nothing new that I haven’t listened to at least a dozen times, nothing on shuffle, nothing which would bring up another project, not too loud, not too quiet and so on. Todays zone soundtracks were Duke Special’s lovely “I never thought this time would come”, Five Iron Frenzies “Quality is job no 1″ and a couple of random House of Heroes tracks (RELEASE THE NEW CD IN THIS COUNTRY YOU SLUGS). In the Valley of the Dying Sun is, I think, my favourite song of the moment and can be found on their myspace if you fancy a listen. Lovely stuff.

Anyhow, apart from that having possibly too much of a lazy day after yesterdays shennanigans (also been asked to cover way loads more sick leave at college which is a good thing, financially, and a mixed thing in terms of time and energy levels). Did edit a few chapters of Sylver 3, more news on that later, although I’m enjoying it, and still on track for May I think… and since then had a coffee and a pair of pears. Now to tidy up a little bit afore everyone gets home and makes a mess (Weds is my day off in the week) and then onwards to the next thing all over again.

Movement on the sock top 10 as well… Will get onto that laters

Actually I do… I have to drop something off at a school, go to a meeting, get some photocopy paper and print cartridges, teach, another meeting, get on a bus, go to job number 2 and edit another 50 pages of book 7… The critical deadlines are 10 am, 11 am, 12.30, 1.45, 3.30, 4.30. 7.30 and 10.30 respectively.

Sigh…

Anyhow, just doodled this for my class to fill in today (they’re not uber keen on writing y’see so I have to segment things, that said I am keen on this class and will be sad to see them go…) and it’s blankness seemed fitting to how dog tired I is.

Anyhow, enough distractedness: onwards.