~Shmaboolah
2004-01-13 - 1:03 p.m.

I had a dream last night that it was the first week of school. It was the school I was working at last year in every way, except with a whole new class. I had a student teacher, as well, but she didn't really know what to do and I wasn't prepared. We had to do some reading and then some maths but nothing got done for an hour, when I finally handed her the attendance roll and told her to mark it, if she knew how, and get the kids started on their work, if she knew what to do with them because I certainly didn't! I stressed a little about not being well planned and not giving the student teacher enough direction, about being a bad, vague supervising teacher like I had on my last teaching rounds, while I stressed about not being able to find any glue containers for the next activity! Then I stressed about not knowing what to do for maths and then I realised it three days were gone and I hadn't even been over to the staff room to check the notices or my pigeon hole, so I didn't know what was going on and had probably missed three yard duty sessions because I hadn't gone over to get the yard duty & first aid timetable!!

The only good thing about the whole dream, apart from the fact that I was not the floundering student teacher anymore, but the (albiet also floundering) supervising teacher, was the grade. Somehow Problem Child had been put in my class again, which I didn't notice until the third day (the first hour became the third day pretty quickly!) and I wondered if another teacher was missing her or if she'd been put into my class again for a reason (which was silly because she should be in grade 1 this year, not grade prep, which I had because it was at last year's school). However, the rest of the class were really well behaved! Very conscientious and cooperative and I had the satisfactory confirmation that I wasn't an awful teacher, I'd just had a very terrible grade, and that I could handle Problem Child one more year if the rest of the grade were well behaved.

I went to the city yesterday to do some shopping. Partly to check out the clothes stores they don't have at the places I usually shop, but also to go to a few specific city shops. I went to Allens Music and bought the music for Hair, the AMEB (Australian Music Examinations Board) Fourth Grade practical book and a book of Irish tunes arranged uncomplicatedly but nicely for piano. When I stopped having piano lessons, I was working on a few Third Grade pieces. Emily & I had decided that, because I was so examed-out, we wouldn't work towards my next practical exam, but that it wouldn't hurt to practice a few of the Third Grade pieces for pleasure, so that when I eventually felt ready to do an exam again I'd have a few under my belt already. Of course, I never did take up piano again. I think, basically, I didn't have patience for all of the proper techniques. I only ever really wanted to play piano for pleasure, although I liked the sense of achievement from my exams and probably would've loved to perform if I'd had more natural talent and poise. It just seemed to me that I hadn't enough patience to pratice up two pieces note-perfect with the correct wrist movements. I just wanted to play lots of pieces for pleasure, and so I don't think the lessons were taking me anywhere at that time. Since then I've played on and off in spurts, particularly leaving it alone when my back's been bad, but I've improved. I've been playing more complicated pieces, but I still haven't practiced anything very consistently, so everything's still very stop-and-start when I come to some trickier notes. I figured that it'd be nice to have some more classical-pianoish sounding pieces to play, and not just the super-simple ones I learned for my previous exams. So I figured getting the fourth grade exam book would hopefully still be simple enough for me to learn with a bit of practice, since I can manage the two third grade pieces fairly well, but a little more interesting from being harder than getting a book of more third grade pieces.

I bought a pair of mid-length green cargoes that I may or may not wear. Now that I can afford it, I have a little of the philosphy that I should buy clothes if I'll probably wear them, because they may turn out to be clothes I wear all the time, or that I wear when I've got nothing else and really save the day - provided, of course, that they're not too expensive. I bought two pairs of cord/cargo pants last year that I didn't wear for ages. Then my back went for the second time and I avoided my boots for a while, which meant two thirds of my trouser wardrobe were out. Suddenly these two corduroy pants were perfect for wearing with my sneakers, and if I hadn't taken the opportunity to buy them I would've been screwed for the past four months! I also bought a lovely charcoal pinstripe not-shirt. You know, it's one of those tops that has a collar and is all shirt-like but doesn't actually have buttons, you just pull it over your head like a normal top. I won't wear that til autumn at least because it's too warm for summer. I used my $30 Sussan voucher, which was just as well because the silly shirt cost $60 before the voucher! I do need more clothes, though. I need about five more t-shirts. My current ones are getting out of shape and all icky around the under-arm. I need more trousers because I want more and smarter and more comfortable things that I can wear with my sneakers. I need more cardigan/jacket things, because I really just don't have anything that matches very much, and my black over-worn cardi is getting a bit old looking, now. I also need more shoes. Another pair of sneakers in a different colour (these are a pale, dull light greyish-green), as well as some black, smart shoes that are flatter than my boots.

I also particularly wanted to go to this special store next door to Allens, but, can you believe it, they close on Mondays and Tuesdays just in January! Not only is that weird and annoying, it's also stupid, as January's the month so many people have off for holidays! Well, I hardly ever get to the city, and even more rarely during term time, so I was a bit put out. I'd particularly wanted to buy things for Amber and Laura there. *pouts* I did, however, get to the second hand bookshop. Now, if you wanted the latest book from Terry Pratchett, Sara Douglass, Robert Jordan etc. you'd be looking at around $40. For $36 I got three Georgette Heyer books, three Agatha Christie books and two J.V. Jones books. How's that for bargain-hunting? Eheh, especially as I spent around $80 at Allens and then $100 at the ABC shop. I bought the latest Sing! collection, but it's so expensive! Two double CD sets at $36 per pair, the book of music for $somethingteen and the teacher's companion for a similar price! I also snagged Volume 1 of Sing! 2003 for half-price. At least I got lots of points on my ABC Whatever.They.Call.It Card.

So it was good, except for not getting something special for Berry & Laura and not being able to buy something for Eva from my favourite Aussie souveneir shop because it wasn't there! Melbourne Central are undergoing massive renovations, so I'm assuming optimistically that this shop will return when that section reopens.

Less than two weeks left til I return to work, now.