Or better said "Where the bloody he** is my money?!"
What I love about the end of a tax year is a letter from the tax office saying you've overpaid your tax. The amount of the bottom of the page made my heart skip and do cartwheels like a child who just found out they don't have to go to school. All of the sudden the rain in April didn't bother me anymore and I could almost see myself singing and dancing in the rain, but I'm no Ginger Rogers and my Fred Astaire is a bit too far away to join me. Anyway, I kept checking my account for the new balance and after a few weeks I didn't want to do any cartwheels anymore (and neither did my heart).
Only in June I decided to phone the tax office to ask them what happened to my money. Apparently they sent the cheque to the bank and the bank sent it back. Huh?! Don't they want the money? So, I phoned the bank. They put me on hold. Answered. Then put me on hold again. Finally, they found someone to talk to me. The bank claims never to have received any cheque in my name. Huh?! And they casually added that I've no money in my account to pay to keep my account open. Huh again?! I have no money, because you returned the cheque! Phoned the tax office again. Was put on hold. Asked to have the cheque sent to me personally. I will deal with it later. Was told by the tax office they sent me a letter in May asking what to do with my cheque. I didn't get the letter. The cheque was at that time in the post. Two weeks later I still have no cheque.
If you see it wandering around and looking for its owner, take good care of it (it needs a warm home, e.g. my empty bank account) and let me know.
Sunday, 19 June 2011
Gee whiz
I'm back and have officially done something scary. I'm still shaking just thinking about it. And now everyone is trying to convince me to change my mind - well, not in a change-your-mind-or-die kind of way, but with subtle hints that are making my decision harder than ever.
Down to the point. I've decided that with all the recent happenings, not getting paid for work I've done was just one of them, I can't really see myself staying here and living somewhere, where only a careless moment of finally watching the news makes me so angry that my blood pressure rises to a dangerous level, is a mission impossible. Being only a few months away from the big three-oh is the time of my life when I'm supposed to enjoy myself (I've a job and should be comfortable being independent and able to do things) and well.... I'm not. The decision of those who lead the country to freeze my chances of being promoted to a better paid position is absolutely insane and it makes my jobs "prospect-less". I don't want to sound cocky, but I'm really good at what I do. And being good and working hard and doing more than just fulfilling your duties should eventually lead to a promotion... but nowadays it won't and God knows how long it will take for things to get better. So, I've decided that with all the language skills and my chameleon-like attitude, I would do better trying to make a life and a career for myself abroad. So, after years of struggling to get a full-time, permanent job, I quit the full-time, permanent job to officially enter the unemployed status in September. Unless, I get really lucky and get a decent job in the country of my choice. So, fingers crossed.
I've started applying for positions I know I can do and would be good at, but no luck so far. But I'm impatient as my friends tell me. I only started sending my CV around a week ago and apparently it usually takes longer to get an answer. My problem is that I've never gone through the I-really-need-a-job type of a job hunt before as I was always so lucky that something more or less just came my way.
All in all, it takes some guts to do what I've just done (especially if you are not the world's most spontaneous person) and it makes me proud that I've finally gathered the courage to do something I've wanted to do for the last 5 years!
Down to the point. I've decided that with all the recent happenings, not getting paid for work I've done was just one of them, I can't really see myself staying here and living somewhere, where only a careless moment of finally watching the news makes me so angry that my blood pressure rises to a dangerous level, is a mission impossible. Being only a few months away from the big three-oh is the time of my life when I'm supposed to enjoy myself (I've a job and should be comfortable being independent and able to do things) and well.... I'm not. The decision of those who lead the country to freeze my chances of being promoted to a better paid position is absolutely insane and it makes my jobs "prospect-less". I don't want to sound cocky, but I'm really good at what I do. And being good and working hard and doing more than just fulfilling your duties should eventually lead to a promotion... but nowadays it won't and God knows how long it will take for things to get better. So, I've decided that with all the language skills and my chameleon-like attitude, I would do better trying to make a life and a career for myself abroad. So, after years of struggling to get a full-time, permanent job, I quit the full-time, permanent job to officially enter the unemployed status in September. Unless, I get really lucky and get a decent job in the country of my choice. So, fingers crossed.
I've started applying for positions I know I can do and would be good at, but no luck so far. But I'm impatient as my friends tell me. I only started sending my CV around a week ago and apparently it usually takes longer to get an answer. My problem is that I've never gone through the I-really-need-a-job type of a job hunt before as I was always so lucky that something more or less just came my way.
All in all, it takes some guts to do what I've just done (especially if you are not the world's most spontaneous person) and it makes me proud that I've finally gathered the courage to do something I've wanted to do for the last 5 years!
Thursday, 22 July 2010
Peace and quiet at Rye
I've just returned from an extremely nice evening out with G. and Daz. We went to the pub that no one knows about and had dinner and now we're all enjoying the peace and quiet of our new home since the kids are in London for Mamma Mia and won't return till about midnight. Tomorrow night we're all on duty, so the cool trio's gonna be in charge of the casino night and we get all glammed up for that.
We're still very busy, so I don't get much done apart from my planning and the lessons and the activities and this feels like a 24/7 job, but it's lovely. Next week is the last week for this bunch of kids and then we start all over with new arrivals. I hope I don't have to dress up as a man again!
TaTa
We're still very busy, so I don't get much done apart from my planning and the lessons and the activities and this feels like a 24/7 job, but it's lovely. Next week is the last week for this bunch of kids and then we start all over with new arrivals. I hope I don't have to dress up as a man again!
TaTa
Wednesday, 21 July 2010
Hawaiian disco, pubs and boys vs. girls night
I’m getting very settled in over here and I’m starting to think that I will hate leaving. For one I’ve had very good feedback from my superiors and I get along with the students, so my work is not that difficult. After lessons us, teachers, usually stay on for another shift and help out with the afternoon activities and this week that included the Hawaiian disco, where students and staff had to dress up Hawaiian style, and yesterday we had boys vs. girls disco, which included cross-dressing, so boys dressed up as girls and girls as boys and I must say some made a real effort and it took me a long time to remove the nail varnish from boys’ fingers.
On Monday night I went to a local pub with a co-teacher and our boss and we ended up having a fantastic time. The pub was in the old part of Headington and the area really gave us the feeling of being in the Cotswolds. It was really pretty and the pub even had a gorgeous beer garden, so we stayed for quite a bit, talked about work and other things. I love the fact that the team of teachers gets on like a house on fire (with some exceptions to the rule, of course). Yesterday I spent quite some time with the boss transferring things between our computers, so I’m now well-equipped with additional materials and books and so is he and today I’ve had co-teachers coming to my room for a chat all the time, so we’ve really become a small family.
Tomorrow I’ve quite an easy day as the kids are off to London in the afternoon, so I might end up at the gym again (congratulations to myself for dragging my bottom back to the gym!!!).
Off to bed now. Good night!
On Monday night I went to a local pub with a co-teacher and our boss and we ended up having a fantastic time. The pub was in the old part of Headington and the area really gave us the feeling of being in the Cotswolds. It was really pretty and the pub even had a gorgeous beer garden, so we stayed for quite a bit, talked about work and other things. I love the fact that the team of teachers gets on like a house on fire (with some exceptions to the rule, of course). Yesterday I spent quite some time with the boss transferring things between our computers, so I’m now well-equipped with additional materials and books and so is he and today I’ve had co-teachers coming to my room for a chat all the time, so we’ve really become a small family.
Tomorrow I’ve quite an easy day as the kids are off to London in the afternoon, so I might end up at the gym again (congratulations to myself for dragging my bottom back to the gym!!!).
Off to bed now. Good night!
Sunday, 18 July 2010
Day off and a bundle of wet clothes
This is going to be a rather short blog entry since I'm not in the writing mood. I'm in the middle of preparing a project for tomorrow's class and it's all about Cadbury's as they're going on a trip to Birmingham on Tuesday.
As I did my laundry yesterday and since it hasn't really dried till this afternoon, I decided I'll put everything in the dryer anyway. And after having done it three times today I must admit I neither see nor feel any difference in the dryness of my clothes. After the first hour in the stupid machine they were still really moist, so I put them in again. I came back an hour later and... no difference. I thought that third time lucky might apply in this situation... well, it doesn't as my tracksuit bottoms and T-shirts are still wet. I really do NOT understand it! After all it is a very simple machine to operate.
Apart from the dryer wars all's fine. I actually dragged myself to the gym (as we have free gym access) and worked out for an hour. I almost died on the treadmill (where are the days when I was able to run for 60mins without stopping?!) and I shouldn't even mention my non-existing willpower when it comes to weight training. I used to be able to do a few repetitions, but now I just think "Ouch, that hurts." and stop. Ah well, at least I did something! And it's a start. And you should never overdo it at the gym! And ... I hope I get back in shape in time.
Back to my chocolate lesson plan now :-)
As I did my laundry yesterday and since it hasn't really dried till this afternoon, I decided I'll put everything in the dryer anyway. And after having done it three times today I must admit I neither see nor feel any difference in the dryness of my clothes. After the first hour in the stupid machine they were still really moist, so I put them in again. I came back an hour later and... no difference. I thought that third time lucky might apply in this situation... well, it doesn't as my tracksuit bottoms and T-shirts are still wet. I really do NOT understand it! After all it is a very simple machine to operate.
Apart from the dryer wars all's fine. I actually dragged myself to the gym (as we have free gym access) and worked out for an hour. I almost died on the treadmill (where are the days when I was able to run for 60mins without stopping?!) and I shouldn't even mention my non-existing willpower when it comes to weight training. I used to be able to do a few repetitions, but now I just think "Ouch, that hurts." and stop. Ah well, at least I did something! And it's a start. And you should never overdo it at the gym! And ... I hope I get back in shape in time.
Back to my chocolate lesson plan now :-)
Saturday, 17 July 2010
Challenge: Let's do the laundry!
It’s lesson preparation time (well, basically it is my time off, but over here that means that this is your time in which to prepare for the lessons, which I still don’t really understand as the activity organisers have time off as well and in that time they’re just off), so I have time to update my blog.
I’m feeling more and more at home (despite the food and the room), but at the moment I’m actually having a cup of coffee in my room and that is a first. Of course I had to buy a flask in Starbucks (where else ;-)) but it at least means I don’t have to be in the office if I want coffee as that means that you get pulled into working (don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind working, but when I’ve been on duty from 7am to 5pm, I really want some time off). Another good thing is that my clothes are in the washing machine and will be all fresh and clean in 25 minutes (I hope, because the machine looks a little bit dodgy and I bought some gorgeously smelling detergent only to realize that the machine uses its own (?) which again I don’t understand, so I hope my clothes smell of my stuff and not the suspicious pinkish liquid from the plastic tank next to the washing machine. It is quite typical that I only discovered the pinkish liquid after I had pressed start.)
I went into town today with another teacher and we had a really nice morning/afternoon and even managed to grab some delicious pub food from one of the pubs in Oxford I actually know and I had Pimms for the first time in 2 years :-) So, you can understand how happy I am at the moment. Plus the kids aren’t here, which means it’s really nice and quiet. Swindon Oasis day is the reason why the only people left on campus are the teachers.
As for Oxford... It is packed!!! There are so many people here that it’s difficult to walk on the pavement and it’s sales time, so it’s not only tourists who crowd the streets. But I love this town! It’s got history and magnificent buildings and I love the atmosphere.
And work? I can honestly say that I expected to be teaching according to a program and would not spend too much time on the activities. But it turned out that besides not having a program to follow I keep being on duty in the afternoon or evening, so I tend to stay up late or get up early to finish lesson planning which is also more complicated than the usual mainstream school. Not having a program and a coursebook to follow everything is pretty much left to me so each lesson requires more time to plan. The students also have no own books which means I need to photocopy materials and that takes ages. I do love teaching and I got a very positive feedback from our DoS who observed my lesson on Thursday, but at the end of the day I feel drained. And I haven’t done any sport in months now, so I’m not only being tired most of the time but I’m also gaining weight and it’s driving me insane. ARGH!!! And on top of everything I was really in a hurry going to work in the evening yesterday and I managed to break the buckle on my favourite high-heeled sandals. Which almost made me cry. Hawaiian disco was a success though and I did look extremely elegant in my try-not-to-breathe dress :-) After the disco we put the kids to sleep and gathered in the office for wine and cheese. I loved it! It’s great how all the staff gets together and the atmosphere changes - it almost felt like being home on the couch, your feet up and a glass of white wine in your hand. It’s a wonderful bonding opportunity and the newest clever idea is that all schools should put sofas in the staff room :-)
Now, my clothes have been washed and they don’t smell of my lovely detergent but of some mixture of my detergent and I assume the pinkish liquid used for washing masses of campus sheets and stuff. :-( The new challenge is to dry them as most of them should not be put in the dryer. Now I have wet clothes hanging in my wardrobe and I hope they will eventually dry. The sooner the better.
Cheerio!
I’m feeling more and more at home (despite the food and the room), but at the moment I’m actually having a cup of coffee in my room and that is a first. Of course I had to buy a flask in Starbucks (where else ;-)) but it at least means I don’t have to be in the office if I want coffee as that means that you get pulled into working (don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind working, but when I’ve been on duty from 7am to 5pm, I really want some time off). Another good thing is that my clothes are in the washing machine and will be all fresh and clean in 25 minutes (I hope, because the machine looks a little bit dodgy and I bought some gorgeously smelling detergent only to realize that the machine uses its own (?) which again I don’t understand, so I hope my clothes smell of my stuff and not the suspicious pinkish liquid from the plastic tank next to the washing machine. It is quite typical that I only discovered the pinkish liquid after I had pressed start.)
I went into town today with another teacher and we had a really nice morning/afternoon and even managed to grab some delicious pub food from one of the pubs in Oxford I actually know and I had Pimms for the first time in 2 years :-) So, you can understand how happy I am at the moment. Plus the kids aren’t here, which means it’s really nice and quiet. Swindon Oasis day is the reason why the only people left on campus are the teachers.
As for Oxford... It is packed!!! There are so many people here that it’s difficult to walk on the pavement and it’s sales time, so it’s not only tourists who crowd the streets. But I love this town! It’s got history and magnificent buildings and I love the atmosphere.
And work? I can honestly say that I expected to be teaching according to a program and would not spend too much time on the activities. But it turned out that besides not having a program to follow I keep being on duty in the afternoon or evening, so I tend to stay up late or get up early to finish lesson planning which is also more complicated than the usual mainstream school. Not having a program and a coursebook to follow everything is pretty much left to me so each lesson requires more time to plan. The students also have no own books which means I need to photocopy materials and that takes ages. I do love teaching and I got a very positive feedback from our DoS who observed my lesson on Thursday, but at the end of the day I feel drained. And I haven’t done any sport in months now, so I’m not only being tired most of the time but I’m also gaining weight and it’s driving me insane. ARGH!!! And on top of everything I was really in a hurry going to work in the evening yesterday and I managed to break the buckle on my favourite high-heeled sandals. Which almost made me cry. Hawaiian disco was a success though and I did look extremely elegant in my try-not-to-breathe dress :-) After the disco we put the kids to sleep and gathered in the office for wine and cheese. I loved it! It’s great how all the staff gets together and the atmosphere changes - it almost felt like being home on the couch, your feet up and a glass of white wine in your hand. It’s a wonderful bonding opportunity and the newest clever idea is that all schools should put sofas in the staff room :-)
Now, my clothes have been washed and they don’t smell of my lovely detergent but of some mixture of my detergent and I assume the pinkish liquid used for washing masses of campus sheets and stuff. :-( The new challenge is to dry them as most of them should not be put in the dryer. Now I have wet clothes hanging in my wardrobe and I hope they will eventually dry. The sooner the better.
Cheerio!
Friday, 16 July 2010
High-heels? How to get out of wearing them....
This is getting ridiculous! Now that I’m paying a small fortune to have my own, private, unrestricted Internet access, I do NOT have the time to use it. And on top of that my USB hub that I got from WH Smith (cos all the other shops like Curry’s, Argos, Sonny, etc. have run out of them) is acting weird and keeps disconnecting from my computer so I’m getting really worried my brand new computer is going to crash! Yikes!
I only have 20 minutes before I’m on duty and it’s Hawaiian disco tonight, so I’m wearing my tight dress as it is the only piece of clothing with big flowers in my wardrobe. I’m thinking if I try not to breathe or sit down between 7pm and 11pm, I should be fine. And I have to be wearing heels, so somebody shoot me now, please! I usually don’t mind high-heels, but I’ve been standing up all day today and my feet are already requiring (no, they are screaming for) a bit of a break, so if you have any ideas how to join the tight dress (in which I cannot sit down) and high-heels (which are only good for sitting down), let me know asap, please.
I don’t even remember if I have written about my job here, but as I gotta run now, it’ll just have to wait till the next time!
Take care y’all!
I only have 20 minutes before I’m on duty and it’s Hawaiian disco tonight, so I’m wearing my tight dress as it is the only piece of clothing with big flowers in my wardrobe. I’m thinking if I try not to breathe or sit down between 7pm and 11pm, I should be fine. And I have to be wearing heels, so somebody shoot me now, please! I usually don’t mind high-heels, but I’ve been standing up all day today and my feet are already requiring (no, they are screaming for) a bit of a break, so if you have any ideas how to join the tight dress (in which I cannot sit down) and high-heels (which are only good for sitting down), let me know asap, please.
I don’t even remember if I have written about my job here, but as I gotta run now, it’ll just have to wait till the next time!
Take care y’all!
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