February, I hardly knew you...

It's safe to say that I've been overwhelmed by the new job... and at this point I can't quite pinpoint why. I'm certainly not alone - the other teachers who started at the school at the same time as me feel similarly rushed off their feet, whether this is their first year teaching or whether they have been teaching for over five years. If I'm being honest, I'm a little disappointed. I thought that this was going to be the right place for me and I'm increasingly feeling like a round peg in a square hole. I know that there are lessons I'm meant to be learning here (there always are, wherever you find yourself), but they aren't apparent yet.

It's not all doom and gloom though. Despite the turmoil I've managed to maintain my weight at the lowest it has been in five years. I'm only 7 kg away from my first goal weight at which point I will have lost 25kg (that's like a five-year-old, right?). We've managed to go on a couple of spectacular all-day dates, one to the Devonport Wine & Food Festival and one to Hamilton for fabulous Mexican food and a walk around the Gardens. I turn 27 tomorrow and I'm still alive. Despite her treatment setbacks, so is Mama Scribs. We're getting married in just over 90 days and we're looking for a new rental closer to where we would like to settle down.

I guess it all comes back to that Balance word. I feel like I'm nowhere near where I want to be at the moment but at least I feel like I'm making progress. It's like that shampoo ad that shall remain nameless... it won't happen overnight, but it will happen!

Gotta have faith

Those of you who follow me on Twitter may have seen my frantic postings on Friday regarding my job. For those of you who may have missed it, I've just had confirmation that my contract teaching position will be finishing a month earlier than expected. Not the worst thing that could have happened but it isn't ideal either when we are saving for a wedding. We've been examining the budget and working out where we can tighten our belts - the great thing about me not working would be that I would have time to create a lot more things from scratch. I'm also trying to ramp up additional income - trying to get Bee Of Service off the ground and looking around for possible temp positions.

The thing I failed to remember on Friday (and what I keep reminding myself now) is that everything WILL be okay. I don't mean that to sound trite, I truly believe that it will be. I survived until now, didn't I? At the beginning of last year, I had no job. I started relief teaching and most weeks had more work than I could possibly handle. I got a long-term relief job at another school that year and learnt more about classroom management (in the battlefields) than I could have possibly learnt at any course. At the end of the year, I got my current job, a job that has taught me so much about myself and the importance of family and community. Wherever I go to from here, it will continue to teach me the life lessons that I still need to learn. If one of those lessons is learning to rely on SB for a month, then that's what it will be - I hope that it's learning some exciting new skills though!

Whether you have belief in a Christian God, a higher positive power or just in yourself, you need to believe that it will be alright. You need to believe that what you are going through has purpose and is teaching you a lesson that you need to know... think on what that lesson is!

What lessons are you currently learning, Scribblettes?

The new business!!!

Yes, it's finally launch time! My new business is:

None of this would have been possible without some very talented ladies I've had the pleasure of meeting through the blogging world. Juliette Maxwell helped me with the technical aspects of creating my business site (domain registrations, DNS propogations and contact forms, oh my!), Amanda (of Gondwana Heels fame, currently running a fab competition on her Facebook page) provided me with sound financial advice and, of course, the delightful Nikki Hassett (also known as Flair To Remember) provided the gorgeous corporate identity that I am so pleased about!

So what do we do? The website provides much more detail but essentially we are a planning and organisational service focused on the mid-range of the market. New Zealand has a lot of large wedding and event planners but few willing to focus on the little events. That's where our business steps in! We also offer decluttering services for the home and digital clean-up services - basically a one-stop organisational shop for people who are time-poor (and who isn't, these days).

I'm beyond thrilled to have made this dream a reality. If you'd like to help out, Scribblettes, like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and spread the word to those you think we could help! Don't forget to nosey around our website and contact us if we can help you!

Time slips by...

It's the evening of the last day of the school holidays. Plenty of parents out there will be rejoicing that their sweet little darling are heading back to school tomorrow. There will be some teachers who are tearing their hair out, nervous for the term ahead. Me? I'm feeling zen. I know, weird right? Who is this person?

Last term I was stressed out by a whole load of things I couldn't control. Part of me wonders whether me taking better control of my health has lead me to stress a lot less about my mother's health, something that I can't control. I'm also proactively dealing with the crappy job market by setting myself up a side-hustle business - Juliette and Amanda have been invaluable resources during this process! I'll let you all know much more about it when everything is sorted (LOL I do need to pimp my own services, it's true) but the thought behind it is that having this side hustle will give me greater career flexibility in the future.

It's not that I don't like my job - for the most part, I really do! But I think I was equally happy relief teaching as well and what I enjoyed at that time was the flexibility to do what I needed for myself and my friends and family. Anyone who thinks that full-time teaching is a 9-3 job is kidding themselves, there's frequent late nights involved, even if the location is flexible. The reality is that I don't think that's what I want when I have kids. I want the flexibility to schedule a day off and go on school trips. I want to be able to work from home so I can be there when they are sick. Having kids is still a wee way off for us but with all the talk that goes along with getting married, it's part of the discussion we're having.

If I love teaching and yet want more flexibility, how is this going to work? My plan is to get my teaching registration and continue to work full-time before we have kids while working my side-hustle up to a viable part-time business. I'll continue to grow my side hustle when the kiddies are little and return to teaching as a relief teacher (meaning that I can pick and choose my days that I am available) or a part-time teacher for a couple of days a week when the kiddies are a little bit older. To me, and to SB, this seems like the most effective way to get where we want financially while upholding the values of family that we think are important. Big epiphany right? It's taken a couple of weeks to come to grips with it but we're feeling pretty confident we can make it work. Wish us luck!

What about you, Scribblettes? Have you found a way to have a career that reflects what you want in life?

What can you change?

If you follow me on Twitter you will have seen that yesterday I was in a pretty emo mood. I don't want to go into a lot of detail on here but I felt like some people who should know better are treating me in a pretty shitty manner. I guess the operative phrase here is "should know better" - I expect a certain amount of crap from my students because they are snotty teenagers. When it comes to adults, I expect better.

Why do I expect better? I was brought up in a household that encouraged me to do what ever I did to the best of my ability. I work hard to be a good daughter (stop laughing Mum, you know I try), a good girlfriend, a good teacher and a good friend. In the last two fields I'm feeling some push back from a selected few people... that the way they are treating me shows they feel that I am not a good teacher or a good friend.

While wallowing in my misery last night (as SB did my chores, bless him) I asked myself "Why am I so hurt by this?". If I got down to the basics it was because I felt like I busted my ass for these colleagues and these friends and I felt like there was no appreciation, nay, no recognition of me going above and beyond the "call of duty". It's almost like that relationship saying "Don't make someone your priority if you are only their option".

This morning I dealt with the second hard question "What can YOU change?". I can't change my colleague's perception of me. I can't change the friends who seem to be doing a piss poor job of actually being my friend. I can change:

1. my perception of my current situation - I am spending TOO much time thinking about those people who are impacting me negatively
2. my response to those negative people - instead of swallowing my colleague's comments, I can actually stand up to them. Just because you have been teaching for 15 years doesn't make you a better teacher
3. my martyr attitude - I know that these friends are not going to be the ones to support me when I need it... why do I keep putting myself on the line for them? Stop it, Scribs! Stop being such a damn doormat.

I already feel like such a weight has been lifted off my chest... don't focus on the things you can't change, Scribblettes. Instead, think "What can you change?"

I am a snail...

...or maybe an armadillo. In times of stress I totally turn into a ball of sighing self-absorption. I'm struggling to even come up with the words to write this post. Forgive me as I stumble through this in the hopes of enlightening you about my situation.

I'm very nervous at the moment about my job situation for next year and in a space of limbo that isn't going to be resolved any sooner than the 18th. I missed out on one position (which in the end turned out to be not what was advertised... probably wouldn't have applied had I known) and have been offered a long-term relief position at this stage which doesn't run for the entire year. There is a possibility that this could turn into a longer position. Coupled with the fact that my current school is now making teacher redundant... yikes! I can almost hear the wolves baying as they walk down the path to the door. It's a lot of pressure to put on SB to support me for six weeks at the start of next year before I start earning again. It's not like we're married... I feel like it's not fair to ask him to support me.

I'm on a BC pill for PCOS and it isn't Pharmac funded - the government agency that provides subsidies on certain medications including other varieties of BCP. This type comes with good recommendations from the international PCOS communities. It started out at $72 for 9 weeks which was steep but affordable. For the last year it has been steadily climbing and the last time I went to the chemist 9 weeks of pills cost me $97! Ridiculous... so now I'm stressing about what my alternatives are - $500 plus a year is just excessive.

I know it's important to focus on my blessings - that I have a job until the end of the year, that my health is generally good, that I have a man who loves me... but right now my brain isn't all that keen on listening. Postive employment thoughts would be awesome though!

Moving on up... err sideways?

If you follow me on Twitter, you may recall that I have been job searching. My current job was just a contract to cover maternity leave. As much as my current boss would love to keep me there, at this stage no one is leaving so there are no open positions. The reality is such that I can't afford to wait to see if one becomes available because there is every chance I might find myself unemployed at the start of next year.

I've been applying at multiple schools across the area and in the middle of last week was delighted that I'd been asked to interview for a job I thought I had little chance of getting - the position calls for an English and Social Studies teacher and I had never taught Social Studies before. The school does however have a Christian background and I think my willingness to work with "the special character of the school" was definitely an advantage.

Imagine my surprise on Friday when I was asked to interview at another school - I had applied to this one last year and just missed out on gaining the position so I'm feeling hopeful that this time it will be mine! Can't count chicks before they've hatched and all but I've gone from having no prospects for next year to having two solid ones.

Both schools are vastly smaller than the one I teach at now (over 2000 students to less than 1000 each) so it will be a big change regardless of where I end up. Really excited for this coming week and hopefully have some good news to report by Friday!!

Anything exciting happening with you, Scribblettes?

What a week!

My goodness... it was one of those weeks that I didn't mind seeing the end of!

It's about to head into official Spring here in NZ and the students at schools seem to be suffering from a combination of cabin fever and spring fever combined. You can barely turn a corner at school without stumbling across two students making out (which, although I can remember being like that, still makes me want to vom a little in my mouth) and it's a rare day when fights aren't breaking out amongst students.

Now yes, I do teach in South Auckland... and the reality is that some of my students' home lives aren't all that different to that seen in movies like "Boy" and even "Once Were Warriors". Some of them haven't learnt the appropriate ways of dealing with anger... some don't understand to let go. Still, Wednesday was a nightmare.

Lining my students up outside my class, I was handing their mark sheets to them individually before letting them enter the class. All of a sudden, across the hall, I see one of my form class students in his class literally strangling one of his classmates. Ushering all my students into class I run into the class and grab hold of his arm trying to stop him. In order to understand how ridiculous this looked, this student makes me look like a dwarf. At 5'9" and 100kgs this is damn hard to do but this Year 11 student is at least 6'5" and twice as wide as me. He finally heard the voice of reason (me yelling his name in his ear) and stormed off down the hall. Crisis averted? One of the male staff not teaching that period came and rounded him up into our office until the deputy principal could arrive.

I head into my class and try and calm a rampant Year 9 (13-14 year olds, first year at high school). I think I've just got everyone settled and I'm up at the board when one of the girls literally picks up a desk (to about chest height when standing) and throws it at the boy in front of her, hitting him in the head. Cue round two of students running away, teachers coming into class rooms and damage control.

I sat in the staff room that lunch time with some kind of teaching shell shock. I love my job but on days like that... I think it's just a natural human reaction to curl up in a ball and give the world the finger. May as well do it while I'm young and stupid and have the energy :)

That said, a morning full of doing chores this morning has felt like a vacation :D

Be careful what you wish for...

My life is soooo dull... yeah right.

So life stepped up about a million notches since the last time I wrote. After feeling like I wanted things to happen, they did. And they weren't quiet about it!

In the last week or so:

• SB and I have started seriously considering into the rental property of a friend's mother. While literally only just down the road, the thought of moving brings round a zillion other thoughts. We're hoping to view this weekend to make our final decision.
• ERO is coming to visit the school I work out. It's basically like a massive audit all NZ schools have to go to about once every three years and it is a freakin' nightmare. In theory, it would be fine and we would just be business as normal. For those of you who have ever worked in a school, you'll know how much admin falls by the wayside so you can actually, you know, teach. This week has seen everyone from senior management down fluff up the pillows (so to speak) and so the instructions and updates have been rolling in thick and fast
• In answer to an email from one HOD (I report to two separate heads of department), I said that I would work on a lesson plan to teach a unit. I meant just for me, turns out she took it to mean for all three teachers that are taking the unit. Guess what I just spent the last two hours doing?
• Teaching the "now" generation - they finished their creative writing assessment on Tuesday. Today in class: "Miss, have you marked my creative writing yet?" No sorry, I'm too busy trying to have a life with a side of nervous breakdown.
• A job has just been advertised in the school I work in and I want to apply - it's permanent, I'm currently on contract. So I'm cracking on to getting an application sorted.
• Trying to sort accommodation for New Years somewhere vaguely near a beach. Word to the wise... don't do it.
• Had plans to get a relaxing pedi this afternoon only to realise as I was leaving work that I had pants on that I couldn't push up my leg. Going pantless in a mall nail salon, not an option. Gah, postponed!

Hope that you are having a more peaceful time than I am! If you are in a tizzy like me, Scribblettes, let a sister know!

Fake it...?

I was reading an article on Gala Darling's website about her new filofax. I've always been a fan of planning so the filofax article itself was not that amazing or insightful. Gala did show how she used the filofax and this was what spurred my thought for today.

She had a page in her organiser that was a list of daily "gratitudes" or affirmations that things would go well for her - an example she gave was that her dogs would get on with each other. I'm not really on board with the whole "The Secret" band wagon - I don't believe that you get everything you want just because you want it and that seems to be the essence of this law of attraction thing... I may be wrong, but that's the gist of what I understand from various articles I have read on the subject.

It did get me wondering about how I look at situations. I've reached end-of-term burnout. When I'm not teaching my classes I just want to sit on the staff room couch and stare into space. I don't like my classes at the moment, the kids annoy me, half of them are so lazy I don't even feel like trying. I feel empty and sad when it comes to the employment section of my life and the worst part is that I know that it's not all true.

I'm exhausted... as in "if I make it to the end of the week without falling sick, I'll be amazed". I know that I'm only seeing the bad because I feel so tired and the same students keep disappointing me. I'm failing to see the good in students who improve their behaviour, I'm failing to acknowledge those students who are awesome all the time.

So after a good night's sleep I plan on writing some positive affirmations to stick by my desk. And to relax myself before going to bed tonight, I'm going to reflect on the serenity prayer (which I know to some of you makes about as much sense as "The Secret").

God grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change;

courage to change the things I can;

and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;

Enjoying one moment at a time;

Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;

Taking, as He did, this sinful world

as it is, not as I would have it;

Trusting that He will make all things right

if I surrender to His Will;

That I may be reasonably happy in this life

and supremely happy with Him

Forever in the next.

Amen.

Standing up for yourself

Do you ever have those moments when you are paralysed in the moment that you should stand up for yourself? As much as I consider myself a confident modern woman, I don't show it. I don't have a problem with talking to friends but when it comes to colleagues or superiors... I just don't. I sit on my issues and mull over it, I try and make an excuse so that I don't have to deal with it. I'm happy to confront my students but full blown adults? Not so much.

Yesterday, I had an incident happen at school and did not have the support that I had expected nor the help that I required at that point in time from people in superior positions to my own. I sat in my class after school filing the necessary paperwork with tears welling in my eyes. I moved some stuff into the staff workroom and returned to my class to get some more. I must have looked like I wanted to die because one of my colleagues followed me back to the class room, where she hugged me and I proceeded to cry it out on her shoulder.

This wasn't the end of it... I was dwelling on it as I was at my parents using their printer. I was dwelling on it over my dinner that SB made me and the glass of wine I had to drown my sorrows. It was still on my mind as I went to bed. I didn't feel like talking over the incident with my head of department - I was still too angry. How could I get out of our weekly meeting? I wasn't in the mood.

I woke up this morning and it struck me - just be honest. I caught my HOD before school and told her that I'd had a really bad class the day before, that I'd been pissed off all yesterday evening and I still didn't really feel like I have the perspective to talk about it today. Reaction: understanding, happy to postpone, "we've all been there" look on her face. Right, next step, email the people I feel have let me down. Yes, they are quite senior to me in position... but what is the worst that can happen? I'm on a fixed-term contract, I can move on. I need to focus on what the best-case scenario is - working conditions I can tolerate and support I need.

Scribblettes, do you find yourself stuck when trying to stand up for yourself? How do you push through it?

Furious...

Ms. Scribbles went on a rampage this afternoon...

I was so unimpressed. This class is continually badmouthing each other - it's not an exaggeration to say that I hear them insulting each other every two minutes... at least. They may only be thirteen but it's really horrible stuff. Since when did it become socially acceptable to call someone a homo, a faggot, a lezzo? Who told these kids that it was okay to use retard and handicap as insults rather than descriptors of legitimate medical conditions? In what universe is it okay to yell across the classroom that someone is a f**king c**t?

Why does it take until high school for these kids to be coached into appropriate classroom behaviour? I know I took over a class that had a crap teacher but it is just beyond me how some of these kids have absolutely no concept of teamwork and respect. New goal for two of my classes - building them into useful humans by the end of the year. If they learn some English along the way, awesome.

New Job Haze

Do you find, upon starting a new job, that you feel completely drained?

Don't get me wrong, I love my new job. The kids aren't perfect - to be honest, sometimes they can be darn hard work - but it's still more rewarding than any other job that I've had. There are some really great people in my department and the deputy principal in charge of newbie teachers has checked in every day to make sure I am settling in well. It's been an overwhelming experience of meeting over 100 people in three days - and that's just the students, not the teachers.

The problem with all of this is that I get home absolutely exhausted. School day ends, I wrap up my work for the day (choosing something small to bring home if necessary), come home, crash, cook dinner, crash again. I was so excited this afternoon when I actually managed to do some laundry. Seems pathetic I know. Whenever this happens, I get really nervous that this is how I am going to be in perpetuity... it's never the case, and I don't see this time being any different... I just wish I had a better way to get through it.

Any tips, Scribblettes?

First day...

Let me just say that I feel completely brain dead so advance apologies if none of this makes sense... LOL.

Today was my first day at new school (referred to as NS from here on out). I had four classes today and still have one class of mine that I am yet to meet. Two classes seem to be fairly easy, two classes I feel I'll have to train. I feel pretty fried at the moment but hopefully it won't be a regular basis type thing... had a lot to get my head around today. Lots of new names!

What struck me today is the difference in attitudes that people have to newbies. The majority of staff - so helpful. Unfortunately my computer wasn't ready this morning and all rolls at the school are done electronically. I had to seek out someone who could print off paper rolls and had a succession of people just point me in a vague direction. I was so grateful to the last person in the chain who actually took me almost by the hand to a person who could fix my issue. On the complete other end of the spectrum, it made me laugh when I shocked people with how prepared I was today - I may be a probie teacher, but I'm also a compulsive planner. There was no way I was going to walk in less than prepared.

The staff member who inducted me advised me to keep a notepad beside the bed so that I could get all those pesky ideas out of my head and get to sleep. I don't see that being an issue tonight... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Good Friday

It feels weird typing Friday in that box... today has a distinctly Saturday feeling about it. Both SB and I were absolutely exhausted last night and in bed by ten (unheard of for us). Today has been a day of pottering around the house, catching up on neglected housework - while celebrating all the awesome things that happened in March, the everyday wasn't quite kept up with. We did manage to get a long walk in the botanical gardens in today so that is something :) We were quite amazed with the amount of eating establishments open today - guess that Easter trading closures aren't the same as what they used to be... LOL saying that makes me feel so old. "Back in my day..."

Things are starting to feel a little more real about the teaching job. Went into the school on Wednesday to collect some resources and met more of the department. Got shown the classroom that is to be mine and my little cubby/work area in the staff work room. It sounds like the junior classes I'm going to teach are going to be pretty challenging but I've outlined a rough plan in my head for the lesson plans for the first week. It is really hard coming into a school in the second term - in theory, the previous teachers have these holidays to leave so I do not get keys, work laptops or photocopy cards until my first day... you know, when I am teaching and all. I'm facing an ultra-early start on that Monday so I can get a few things sorted before I walk into a classroom. Still... suck it up... you have a job, Ms Scribs!

Looking forward to the rest of the weekend - lunch and Alice in Wonderland with Mama Scribs and Littlest Sister, BBQ with friends on Saturday, catch up with ChCh Sis on Sunday for dinner and go to work with SB on Monday! I know the last one may not seem too exciting but I am a total dork and really fascinated by what he does. Any exciting plans for you over Easter, Scribblettes?

Being alternative doesn't always pay...

Literally.

With the relief teaching and some casual shifts at my old arts centre job, ends should finally be meeting. New Zealand is slightly odd in charging you higher income tax on whatever job you take in addition to your main job. Working for the Ministry of Education (who pays all teachers in New Zealand) is considered my first job and taxed at the appropriate level for my income generated while the arts centre job is taxed at 33%. Still, as a couple we can still manage.

Unless I don't get paid.

Approached in the staff room today by the Payroll Officer of High School #1, I was told that she had forgotten to submit all relievers' pay. Ergo, a full week worked at said high school would not be paid next pay day (I worked at High School #2 the following week for three days and get paid fortnightly) and was that okay?

I don't like to make people feel bad, but I had to tell her that it was not okay. I have to make my half of the rent, my half of the bills, my half of the groceries. My parents have been generous to me up to now but are having to help my sister out with payment for her car as well as having car problems of their own. As SB and I are only in a dating relationship (not engaged, married, etc) I feel uncomfortable about asking him to shoulder any extra costs. It's not okay... I need the money and I need to be paid it when it was meant to be paid.

I try not to pity myself - I know there are parts of being a teacher that I miss out on due to the path I have taken. Being paid automatically is only a very small perk. I miss out on getting to plan my own classes. I miss out on being able to build relationships with students and having the same influence over them that their classroom teacher has. But when I made the resolution for February that I was going to be more proactive, I made the decision that relief teaching was better than no teaching.

The school has petty cash that may be able to cover this... but now, we wait.

Secret fashion maven??

I'm not one of these girls who is always impeccably dressed before leaving the house - the nature of my hair alone means that in an Auckland summer I am a frizz bomb before noon. Only two months ago did I get around to throwing out all my clothes that were out-of-date, out-of-size or just plain not me anymore. I don't style blog because frankly most of my clothing decisions are made after my morning shower based on the fact that they don't make me look like a fat old lump. I hardly feel that puts me in the league of such gorgeous ladies as Andrea and SKM.

Over the last week, I have been relief teaching for PE. As such, the drama teacher in me feels like I have to adopt the role of a PE teacher and dress appropriately - not stupid, you need to be able to pitch in with the kids and wear flexible and sport-appropriate clothing. But by last night? I was feeling like a total scruff.

While I don't consider myself a style maven, I have discovered that I am a little bit of a style snob. I can't spend all day in t-shirts and yoga pants. I know that there are some stylish sportswear items out there but it's not worth the investment when I could be covering a math class next week. So as an antidote to all the slobbery (slobbishness?), I'm spending today in a lovely dress. And have two dresses on hand to wear this weekend :) Sometimes you gotta love being a girl!

Underemployed...

And so it begins, my summer of underemployment. Don't get me wrong, I currently have two jobs that I'm squeezing in together to ensure I have a decent cashflow. But the spans of days are currently mine and it's just the nights that are cluttered. It seems counterproductive to the life I want to have - with time for friends and family - but everything is manageable for a finite time.

What do I hope for in this season of underemployment? I want to make the best use of my days, doing lunches with SB and some of my friends. I want to use the time fruitfully to go through the stuff that I have and decide what will come to SBs with me and what will stay. I want to bake treats and give them to friends and family. I want to plan Christmas menus so together as a family we can implement them and show Mama Scribbles an awesome Christmas that she doesn't have to put any effort into. I want to buy decorations for SB and my first christmas tree. I want to remember even in the midst of retail madness the spirit of Christmas, laughter, and love.

Too much to ask?

Yippee!

I didn't want to jinx it by saying anything (and I don't know why, I'm not that superstitious) but I had taken part in what seemed to be some very positive discussions about a job over summer. My student allowance runs out at the end of November and I had been very concerned about making ends meet over summer - my employment at my current job does not offer enough hours and will end with the closing of the business over the Christmas/New Year period. Biting nails for the last couple of weeks, I am pleased to announce that I finally have a confirmed "christmas casual" job!

I swore when I started my marketing and PR job around four years ago that I would never work retail over Christmas again... famous last words! Without going into too much detail, I will be working in a lingerie shop, selling sexy wee bras and panties and making use of the employee discount *wink wink*. It's for a company that seems friendly and has some hot little designs so I'm really looking forward to it... the being paid thing is nice too.

If only I could get a confirmed teaching job, about half my stress at the moment would lift right off my shoulders! Patience is a virtue, I know! Is there anything you are waiting for, Scribblettes? Let me know in the comments!

Sharing out the eggs...

As my time at my practice school comes to an end (with the semester following soon after), a lot of the students are asking me if I will come back next year to teach. As much as I would love to go back to that school as a teacher, its a school that is renowned for innovative approaches and staff support (especially within the English department) and therefore has a relatively low turnover. To boot, I am a beginning teacher and can therefore not work as heavy a class load as a fully registered teacher - if they have a fully registered teacher and myself applying for a vacancy, it's likely I would lose out.

There are two other schools that I would love to work at within a 20k radius of home - looking at both school's websites, reading their ERO reports (the official Ministry of Education discussions) and speaking to previous attendees of the schools... problem with those schools? They're also renowned as fairly awesome. I can't put all my eggs into one or even three baskets or I may see out 2009 without getting a job - and that would make me a sad panda.

So I've worked on a creating a tier system of schools - it currently stands at ten schools:

Tier 1 - Dream College(DC)

Tier 2 - Awesome Rural High (ARH), Awesome College Near Mall (ACNM)

Tier 3 - Fairly Awesome Rural High (FARH), Fairly Awesome High Near Water (FAHNW), Fairly Awesome Landlocked High (FALH)

Tier 4 - Strict Private College (SPC), College Nearest Home (CNH), Alma Mater (AM), Good College Bad Commute (GCBC)

My current thoughts are to send out expressions of interest to Tiers 1, 2 and 3 but keep my eyes open for advertised jobs at Tier 4 schools. It's a way of keeping my fingers in all the pies... the worst thing would be to leave all this too late and be scurrying for jobs that I don't really want. I'll be spending the next couple of weeks collating references etc together and polishing up my CV and crafting cover letters (as well as you know, plan and teach and work and study) - the early bird catches the worm!

Are you dividing your eggs between multiple baskets? Let me know in the comments!