Rainy Start To A New Course

My first day. I have started a new course at my local TAFE. That is the New South Wales Department of Education abbreviation for College Of Technical and Further Education. The course I am doing is for women intending to return to the workforce who have been out of employment for a while usually through family commitments but not restricted to this reason. This course is free and covers a range of topics including computers and preparing a resume but also touches on presentation skills and workplace communication. It is considered to open doors to opportunities that otherwise may not have been known about. We are a group of thirteen from various backgrounds ranging in age from 25 to 50+ and a wide spectrum of skill sets. So as the rain poured down outside the classroom we went through the usual first day routine of introductions and getting to know you activities. We learned the important things like where to get coffee, where the toilets are and evacuation procedures and we signed our acceptance and understanding of course content and outcomes. It has been a long time since I sat in a classroom so I am feeling a little nervous and a little excited and a fair bit of anticipation as well. We have big hopes for this course. None of us is really sure what we are going on to in our lives. Most of us are looking to change any vocation we may have had in the past. One thing which will be different for me will be the shorter time available to me to plan for the meal ahead each evening. So tonight we will have a simple noodle bake using some leftover sausages from last night's dinner chopped up and stirred through a basic cheesy mac. The kids will be happy with that. Tomorrow I will put my thinking cap on. Perhaps a Mulligatawny soup.

Paperwork & Procrastination

I am procrastinating. There's no denying it. It's a blatant fact. You see, what I should be doing today is entering figures and details into a spreadsheet for a quantity surveyor so that he has a starting point to do a depreciation schedule. YAWN! It's something I need to do. I definitely should not be sitting here writing this blog. It's a bit like the big red button. You may not have seen this but to a 13 year old boy it is very funny. It is a web page with nothing but a big red dot on it and looping messages with various forms of "Don't press the red button" and of course they do and the message keeps changing and young master junior teenager sits there hysterically giggling the longer it goes on. And on. So why don't I just get it over with? Because I obviously don't have anything very much of value to write here anyway. I know what my 13 year old son will be doing at school today. He is the master of endless annoyance. And last night of all things I mistakenly gave him fuel for his annoyance fire. I said, "Do you know you have 11 fingers?" Then starting with one hand I counted back from 10 to 6 then held up the other hand and announced "plus five is 11". Then I said "But if I have 11 fingers why didn't I start at 11? 11, 10, 9, 8, 7 plus 5 is 12". Are you starting to get the picture? A thirteen year old could keep this going the whole day. The notion is truly scary. So why don't I have anything to write about today? Well, it's soccer training night again and it's leftovers again! Remember that casserole I made yesterday? I used 1.6kg. So there's enough to feed an army. But don't let on. I don't want them bringing their muddy boots into my living room. Boy, why is it that you have to say the same thing to a boy every single day. "Don't go through the living room with those muddy soccer boots on!" No wonder we're accused of nagging. I also have to make a few phone calls so I really should call it quits now.

Do you want to see the Big Red Button? No you don't!

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OK, you asked for it. Big Red Button

I just had to add this! Have you ever heard of a "Tornado Potato"? Apparently, it is a whole potato cut in a spiral. A bamboo skewer is pushed through the centre and then it is deep fried. It can be as long as the potato will stretch and the length of the skewer. It is served sprinkled with a choice of flavourings. I could see this catching on here! Have a look at this thing!

Guinea Pigs & Leftovers

I got a phone call last night asking for me to be at the school this morning in time for the baseline tests for a research program my daughters are participating in. If I had prior knowledge of today's event I had forgotten it but that's not that unusual. Keeping a mental calendar for myself and four children I do tend to miss the occasional item here and there. My son takes some beating though. With only himself to think of and a school timetable to refer to, he called from school to say that he had forgotten his sports gear. Since the school is an hour round trip I gave them a call to see what time he would need it. Guess what? He doesn't have that class today! So we go along to the classroom and are first briefed on what is going to happen today and how to use some of the instruments that will need to be used at home. This project is to test the response and reactions of the children to the air produced in their classrooms by unflued gas heaters. There has been a push in our area, which experiences colder winter temperatures than the rest of Sydney because of our altitude, to eradicate unflued gas heaters from the classroom. The authorities won't accept that there is an issue or are unwilling to agree to the cost of replacement. Or perhaps and more likely because they are unwilling to spend the money. I love the acronym that the interest group involved has come up with for them selves - COUGH which stands for Campaign Opposing Unflued Gas Heaters. So this research project has been undertaken and this mornings activities included breath testing with a peak flow meter an skin scratch tests. The kids all thought it was a lot of fun comparing the lumps and bumps that rose on their skin. "You're allergic to everything!" one child pronounced to another on seeing the red welts across his forearm. The main monitoring period will be taken over six weeks after the school holidays. On being told that they were guinea pigs by one of their classmates, all the little girls fell about giggling and making little nibbling faces. We have soccer training tonight for our eldest son about an hour travel away so dinner for the rest of the family will be leftovers from last night's lamb cassoulet and we will grab a takeaway on the way home. Choices for us are a bit limited but we have managed to stay away from the golden arches for a few weeks now.