Tuesday 3 May 2016

Roller Coaster Times

What a ride the last few weeks have been, changes at work and changes to my future. Add in daughter finishing and coming home form Milan, to wash repack and leave for Greece. Start of study leave for the seniors and all that brings to the school. And to make it more fun I have had to cover another library which is 35 miles the opposite way to my normal work place, train my area for the new software that is being rolled out, oh and go down with a nasty deep tissue infection that ended up being a trip to A&E and nearly a week off with nasty medicines. Woo non-stop something for weeks.

Daughter has started new job that will run for the summer for Neilson the sailing people working in the kids club looking after primary age kids and probably having the time of her life. She is already asking for extras to make her life easier and she only got there 2 days ago. Youngest is coming up to his first uni exams and came home for a recharge for the weekend and we discussed how he is in charge of his own education and not the lecturers and it was as much as he put in and not as much as he gets given. He has started looking less stressed (well for him).

Study leave is yearned for and dreaded every year, for some it is the start of freedom while others realise how little time they have left to the exams and how much is still to be done. The staff also view with a mix of love and hate, to have all the senior spaces lifted off them and a reduced work load, vs how little some classes have done and much extra time will be needed to get them up to speed. Also for most of the year you will hear staff planning for what they will get done in the study leave but when we get here there is so much to do and other things that need doing most do not get finished in the study leave and end up running to summer muttering about too much work and too little time.

Work is in flux as per normal, but I have heard that my mentee passed her Chartership and I am so thrilled for her, she deserved it for the time and hard work she put in to it. This also means she is now moved up a level and can take some of the work load off me and makes my life a bit easier. Win win all round. After doing three out five days off on the north coast I am now back at my desk and happy. I do like going out that way and love the community, the journey is long and winding and while the views are stunning (they really are very stunning) I am happy at my desk with no view and my own paperwork.

Sadly my poor arm was very bad, I have no idea how I got the infection, I am not aware of any cuts or bites but I do have 4 lovely cats who I think the world of but who think of me a chew toy or a scratching post, and occasionally a warm lap. I didn't realise how bad it was getting until I knew I had to be seen asap and then they discussed admitting me from A&E but decided to wait with heavy dose antibiotics, I slept for the next couple of days, I did try to come in start of last week but ended up going home again after an hour. I would say I have learnt to get things checked much faster in future, but can't promise that being ill I wouldn't miss the cues next time.

And now to May, so much to learn and so much to plan, I have my tickets for the cilip conference in Brighton, I also know I am flying to Amsterdam and flying back from Venice before it starts, but the rest of the itinerary is up in the air. Watch this space.