And it's serious deja vu...!!

Thank you Beyonce!! Seriously though, I'm starting to lose count of the number of times I've intended to write meaningful posts this month, but have ended up rushing because I'm meant to be somewhere else. And tonight's no exception...I went out late afternoon, thinking that I'd be able to come home at some point during the evening, but it looks like things are going to continue into the night, so I've excused myself just so I could come home for a little and do the things I was intending to do i.e. blogging and checking emails at my leisure. So again my utmost apologies...I really really hope that normal service is resumed tomorrow!!

Till next time...

Why can things never go to plan??

Or, more specifically, why can my blogging never go to plan?! After posting only yesterday about my planned blogging schedule for the next few days, the Internet demons have decided to throw a spanner in the works. Namely, that when I was ready to log in to Blogger and write my post, I couldn't access the Internet for neither love nor money but now when I really have no time to be blogging, as I'm due to leave the house in 10 minutes max, it decides it wants to play nice again!! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!

So, I suppose this is one part apology, another part explanation, and finally a thank you to my followers and commenters new and old...I appreciate your comments and support, and I hopefully be back to posting what I intended as of tomorrow :-)

Till next time...

Off out again...

I know I said I'd stop doing this but you're going to have to put up with me doing a really rushed post just one more time as I'm off out again shortly. This evening some friends and I are going to see Toy Story 3 (one of my goals!!), and having heard great things about the film, I'm really looking forward to it. It may sound weird, but I'm hopeful that I'll cry at the end...I've heard of so many adults that have that I'll kind of feel that I've got no soul if I don't lol!! I'm also planning on getting some delicious Ben and Jerry's to take in with me...Cookie Dough and Chocolate Fudge Brownie Froyo are my current flavours of choice. I just hope I get there in time, as I really want to indulge!! Anyway, I suppose I'd better wrap this post up now...I don't want to be the person holding everyone else up, and my lift is due to arrive any minute. Hope everyone has a great rest of the day, whatever you're doing, and I'll be back tomorrow, hopefully with another "What's in my Wardrobe Wednesday", but knowing me, you'll just have to wait and see!! Till next time...

And three!!

I can't believe how forgetful I'm becoming when it comes to blogging!! Another uber quick one...it's my friend's birthday today so we're heading out for a meal and drinks in town. I'm leaving in about 20 mins and I've not even done my make up yet...eek!!

To make up for three rushed posts now, I promise that (most of) my forthcoming ones will be more lovingly written and will have a lot more time and attention spent on them as I do really want to make a proper go of this blogging everyday lark :-)

Till next time...

My day: short but (pretty) sweet

Now, this is going to be rather rushed...I'm due to go out in an hour, and I haven't yet had the shower which I've been intending to have all day!! And it's been quite a lazy day too...I slept in a bit, had a driving lesson, helped my sister with her paper round and then spent the afternoon chilling...mainly messing around on the net and watching a DVD. Never mind, I suppose...I'll be signing off in a mo, and my going out this evening is for a great cause. Not only will I get to spend time with some of my best friends, my activities this evening should help contribute towards one of my Operation August goals. Yay!!

And that's your lot for today...promise I'll be back with something longer and hopefully more coherent tomorrow!! :-) Till next time...

An end...but also a beginning

Yet another couple of weeks has gone by without me blogging, and again I can't believe how long it's actually been since my last post!! I can attribute my absence to two main factors: one, I've been actually rather busy with work the last couple of weeks (it's been quite a surprise given how late on in the school year it is) and two, I've had all kinds of mixed up thoughts, feelings and emotions running through my head lately, and I've not really known how to put them down on 'paper', especially as my mood has been very changeable of late. But now I've come to a decision, albeit a very vague one, I feel it's time to break my silence.

And so to the title of this post...in many ways, I'm currently facing the end of a chapter in my life story. As I've mentioned, it's very nearly the end of the school year. And as things stand, the end of the school year will also bring my time as a supply teacher to a close. Due to circumstances beyond my control (a ridiculous government ruling), newly qualified teachers i.e. me, can only do short term supply for 16 months before completing their induction period (a year/3 terms where NQTs have to demonstrate they meet certain standards and are supported by a teacher mentor at their school). After your 16 months is up (it starts counting down from the very first day you work on short term supply, and doesn't stop...even if you don't work as a supply teacher after that initial day, your 16 months would be up at the same time as someone who had done supply for the duration!!), that's it! No more short term supply (anything less than a term) until your induction's in the bag!! And this puts me in a really tricky position...basically to give you a potted work history, I qualified in June '07, and started doing short term supply from the September of that year. I covered a maternity leave from May to December of 2008, thereby completing a term of my induction, and have been doing short term supply ever since. I found out about the 16 month ruling in September of last year (it's been around for a while but is very rarely flagged up to anyone; I only found out by complete chance), and was able to secure a 3 term extension taking me up to now. Now where I have been unable to secure a long term/permanent teaching post that would let me finish my induction. Now where my teaching career appears to be at an end, momentarily at least. I know that supply teaching wasn't the job I would have chosen in an ideal world...I've been longing for my own classroom and I know that I've definitely had more bad than good experiences of the supply teaching world, but I'm still angry that my teaching career's being taken out of my hands through no fault of my own and there's nothing that I can do about it!!

But with an end also comes a beginning. This hiatus in my teaching means that I'm free to try new things although, for a while, I was at a loss to exactly what they were. Should I try and get a permanent teaching assistant job as the next best thing to teaching? Find some temping work unrelated to teaching? Embark on an altogether new career path by applying for full time jobs outside the education sector (or at least outside school settings)? Go back to uni and work part time to help support myself in the meantime? I considered all of these and more, and have recently come to a decision. My new beginning is hopefully going to be working as a teaching assistant on a supply basis. This has the advantage of still enabling me to work with children, without having all the responsibilty and stress that comes with being a teacher, and it will hopefully allow me to gain more experience of working in the EYFS with the youngest children in the primary age range (3-5 year olds); this is one area I'm currently lacking in and I'm keen to do something about it! Plus I'll still have the flexibility I've come to really value on supply so if I need a day off or get offered a long term post elsewhere I'll be able to take it wothout feeling I'm letting anyone down. Of course, there will also be disadvantages. Pay won't be as good; I'll probably have to work a full week to earn the same wage I'd get for 2 or 3 days of supply teaching, and there's no guarantee that work will be available all the time. Also I'm preparing myself for some awkward questions: Why am I doing TA work when I'm a qualified teacher? How come I've not been able to finish my induction yet when I've been qualified for 3 years? But these are things I'm just going to have to live with. I'm still planning to carry on applying for teaching jobs as I have been doing over the past 18 months so nothing's really changed in that respect, I'll just be filling out slightly different details in the "current employment" box on my applications!! At the moment, I've got a vague idea of giving things another year, but I suppose I'll just wait and see what happens between now and then.

But maybe thinking about September before the school year's even out might be a little premature. After all, there's the summer to think of first. A summer that I plan to spend sleeping in, reading, seeing friends and spending alone time, soaking up the sun (hopefully!), getting out and about but also having some time at home. Time that I'll dedicate to me. Not in a selfish way, but in a useful way. Time that I'll use to plan for the future, time where I can hopefully begin to discover what really makes me tick. At the minute, new ideas are popping up on a regular basis! I'm considering becoming an Avon representative, and am also interested in finding other ways of earning some extra money. Who knows, I might even find something I love so much, I'll know exactly where my future lies! But whether I do or not, I know that I'll have a good summer nonetheless. So here's to a well deserved break (if I do say so myself!!) To happy(ish) endings and new beginnings...I'm going to do my best to make the most of each and every one of them!!

Promises, Promises...!

Ok, it's official...I'm a bad blogger! I promised more regular posts whilst I was going to be off, and yet nearly a week has passed by since my last one! In my defence, technology hasn't always been entirely on my side over the past few days. I was (and still am) intending to write a couple of picture heavy ones, but the bluetooth connection between my mobile and my netbook was having none of it! However, I finally managed to work out what the problem was this evening, and I've now uploaded all my pictures so expect those posts coming soon! As well as all the other usual randomness of course!!

And so now, it's time for me to sign off...but this isn't a goodbye, rather an au revoir :-) Until next time...(fingers crossed it'll be tomorrow!)