Work placement

Monday:

Today was my first day of work placement - 8 weeks of (part time) unpaid work in a library. I get work experience and also see a variety of incidents I need for my client service, IT, and team management parts of my course. I’m in a TAFE library for adult students of subjects including childcare, massage therapy and cookery. The cooking school is just opposite the library doors - it smelled great!

I really enjoyed my first day. It was interesting to meet some new people. There were two librarians, Lyn and Sue, both very nice middle-aged-ish ladies; and because other staff were on holidays or working elsewhere for unexplained reasons, there were two other people starting today. New to this library but not to libraries in general. Annie, very quiet girl, has been working in a public library for eight years and is helping out here for three weeks. Matthew, 27, the only one of the group much above 5 ft tall, usually works at a different TAFE library so knows the computer system and general practices.

I have my own desk (actually someone called Maya’s, but she’s away) but I didn’t really spend any time there today. Lyn showed the three newbies around the library, then Matthew showed Annie and I the computer system (how to check out and and return books, create new records etc) which he was very very thorough with. It was similar to the one we used in class, and the other one they have at Aiden’s school. They all have much the same functions, of course. Finally Librarian Sue showed me how to send out overdue notices, and the categories for children’s books (the adult childcare students use them) which lead to a discussion about where to shelve a jigsaw puzzle based on the book “The very hungry caterpillar” but that didn’t picture the metamorphosis which had led the original book to be shelved in”science”. For the record, I thought the puzzle should stay with the book even though it was actually teaching children to count.

None of this learning went on uninterrupted. The campus was very quiet first day back after the holidays with many classes not resumed yet, but there were still some students and a few teachers coming in for various things, often needing assistance. And the printer was broken. And the big screen that was supposed to display a loop of information pages just had an error message. And Sue got a call that her elderly mother had collapsed and she didn’t know whether to rush to hospital or not and she’d just missed a train. Always something going on.

I was excited to learn that they do a bit of basic cataloguing there, but also that most cataloguing for all the TAFE libraries is done centrally only about half an hour from my house. I had been despairing that the only cataloguing jobs I knew of were all the way over the other side of the city, nearly two hours travel away and therefore impossible. Learning that was the high point of my day. The worst bit was sitting so long perched on the high stool at the front desk, learning the computer system, with my legs dangling. Feet and bottom going numb. So uncomfortable to have legs hanging unsupported for so long. But otherwise it was a good day.

My weight this morning was 71.1 kg, same as last week. 

Braces

Saturday:

Jasmine had braces put on her teeth yesterday. She's been talking about it for a year or so, her bottom teeth are crooked which no one else ever really notices but she wanted them straightened. All her friends have braces, apparently. I wasn't very enthusiastic about it because of my own experiences as a child, I think getting braces is what gave me my dentist phobia, but I didn't discourage her and she finally had them put on in a two hour appointment yesterday. She handled it very well (I was trying not to show my stress!) but her mouth is pretty sore now. We have soft food scheduled for the next few days, like risotto last night.

She didn't have to have any of the worst bits from my 35-year-ago experience: like having four teeth removed first, and having a plaster mould made of my teeth by holding basically concrete in my mouth and feeling like I was drowning while it set. She had a 3D scan made electronically instead, so much less traumatic!

Smaller

Thursday:

I did a little clothes shopping today, I’m about to start my work placement on Monday and I needed more autumn/winter variety in work clothes. I managed to find two warmer tops to go with my new trousers. One shop didn’t have a Medium in the top I liked, I tried a Large and it was much too big. Even the shop assistant commented how baggy it was - and usually they try to sell you anything! She apologised for not having my size. On a whim I tried a Small and it fit perfectly. When I took it up to the counter, the same assistant was very surprised that I was going to buy it (the Large, she thought) and it was nice to say I had fit into the Small.

Another shop, for some reason I tried the Large first again. Too big, tried the Medium. Still too big. Tried the Small. Perfect! Different shops have different sizing, I fit in anything from a 12 to a 16 at the moment, but it looks like I should be trying the smaller sizes first.

Still no rain

Monday:

Well the bushfire is still there, under control but we haven't had any rain. We keep getting a forecast for rain that gets moved back and back and back so it's always days away. However, the weather is now much cooler and not windy so it's not as dangerous. I check the map a couple of times a day and spot fires pop up here and there (Jasmine's High School has been threatened twice) but are brought under control quickly. I'm no longer worried about it all but I feel sorry for the firefighters and people whose houses are right along the edge of the fire front.

I didn't weigh myself last Monday as we were away from home, but the following day I weighed 71.1 kg which was a gain of 0.7 kg, and this week I have maintained that gain. Still 71.1 kg. I have been eating chocolate every day since Easter (Lindt milk, mostly) and letting other bad foods like chips at the movies creep back in. School holidays! But I finished my last little chocolate bunny yesterday, and although there is still another week of school holidays I plan to get strict with myself. Way too much sugar.

We went to a family BBQ lunch yesterday including some relatives we don't see often, I hadn't been to Tim's uncle's house before but I knew they'd been living there at least a couple of years so I was surprised that it looked like a construction zone. No access to the front door - you had to climb up a pile of bricks in the garage to get into the kitchen, roof space open, gaps between the house and the deck etc, (although the inside was nice). The uncle was building it himself, while working fulltime until recently. And then I learned they had been there 15 years! Fifteen years in an unfinished house. If I was Aunty Jan I'd be insisting on hiring someone to get it done! I was also told that their previous house was the same for 20 years, they only rushed to finish it so they could sell it and move... so that's 35 years living on a building site. Oh well, perhaps it doesn't bother them.

Aunty Cheryl was unintentionally hilarious, after dominating the conversation all lunchtime in an endless stream (I don't know when she had her mouth free to eat) she mentioned she wasn't fond of her son's girlfriend because she talked too much. No one could get a word in edgewise to comment. And when someone asked an innocent question about another relative, she acted as if we'd all twisted her arm and "reluctantly" spilled a whole lot of gossip she wasn't supposed to. Funny. It's not so bad having a couple of "talkers" in the family (Tim's dad is the same), there are certainly no awkward silences at family gatherings!

We still have a house

Tuesday:

Well we still have a house, and are all safe.

We stayed up most of the night on Saturday monitoring the bushfire situation, early Sunday morning they downgraded the danger rating so we relaxed a bit. But by lunchtime the wind picked up again and the danger rating was put back up to emergency. The air was full of smoke and floating ash. The fire front reached the point that I had decided would be when we abandon ship (ie house) so we grabbed out bags and went. Several houses of family members living nearby evacuated at the same time - in fact we used our second car to help get them all to safety.

We went to a big shopping centre a few suburbs away, watched a movie (Ready Player One, which we enjoyed) then shared dinner and a hotel with brother-in-law's family (kind of had to stay together, with Ping's parents staying with them they didn't all fit in one car). All the local hotels were full, we had to go further towards the city to get rooms. I was very tired after the previous sleepless night and slept like the proverbial log.

In the morning the fire danger rating had been downgraded again, although the fire kept growing. Every time we checked the website the coloured-in area on the map was a bit bigger. The firefighters were still keeping it away from houses, but it was creeping south through more bushland. At breakfast I rang the dentist to check they were closed as the kids had appointments and was stunned to find they had reopened (after being closed on the weekend) - they are a couple of blocks closer to the firefront than our house - and we were quite a long way away so it was a mad rush and we were very late but they saw us anyway. The sky was amazingly clear, our house was still there, everything looked great.

By Monday afternoon (none of our people went to work) it was smoky again, fire still growing, but we were not in any immediate danger. Slept ok last night. There are burned leaves in the backyard, floated here from the fire, so we still need to be vigilant. Tim has gone to work today, we are hoping for rain. Still have bags packed and waiting by the door.

Bushfire!

Saturday:

We’re all packed and ready in case we have to evacuate. There is a bushfire nearby and blowing this way. We can see a red glow in the sky (it’s 9:30 at night) and the air is full of smoke.

We went out to have a swim this afternoon - probably our last swim for the season as the weather is set to cool a bit next week - and we could see a huge plume of smoke turning the sun blood red. It was a hot day and very windy - the wind so strong it ripped the safety instruction poster off our fence. The edge of the fire was 9 km away from us at that stage. A friend of Jasmine's living in that direction didn’t evacuate when advised to and was then told it was too late to leave, the roads were closed. The fire is now 1 km away, but on the other side of the suburb, it would have to burn through a lot of houses and the shopping centre to get to us. We’ve been told to wait and watch, for the moment. I suppose they don’t evacuate people unless they have to, the roads would get very clogged. I think we’ll be safe here. Not sure when I’ll go to bed though.

Last class

Thursday:

I had my last class for my Library and Information Services Diploma yesterday. I still have a whole term to go, but it is filled with work placement, online study, and a major assignment with a couple of one-on-one consultations with my teacher. No actual classes, so I guess I will never see any of my fellow students again! None of them live anywhere near me so we're not likely to meet up or work in the same place, although we do have a Facebook group that people post jobs and library humour on. I didn't think of it until after I'd left. It's not farewell for the others, most have other classes (which I've already done or am doing online) which continue into next term. Maybe I'll see some people at graduation. And my favourite teacher, too. (My second-favourite is supervising my work placement and my research assignment so I'll see her.) Many of the people I was friends with studied full time so already graduated last year.

Actually I'm not sure if I'll go to the graduation ceremony. I've already sat through it for my BA and my Grad Cert. I'll see how I feel in three months.

I had to get up two hours early this morning so that I could drive Jasmine to school for an excursion. My body and brain don't know if they should be awake or asleep. This confusion was definitely reflected in today’s diet! And although I worked on an assignment all day I don’t feel like I got much done. I should have just had a nap instead.

I’ve been watching the Commonwealth Games on TV. It’s like the Olympics, but with only Commonwealth countries - 53 former territories of the UK like Australia, Canada and India. The Commonwealth includes about a third of the world’s population but without USA, Russia or China at our games Australia wins a lot more medals!

Frog

Tuesday:

This is why I don't use poison sprays in the garden. I've named him Morris.

Virtual queasiness

Monday:

70.4 kg today, another 1.2 kg down. Awesome. My wedding and engagement rings are getting loose, I'll have to get them adjusted soon.

We have a VR (virtual reality) thingo and on the weekend Tim got Skyrim for it. It's the first really major game we've had for it. Skyrim is a fantasy adventure, swords and sorcery and dragons, that you can also play on a regular computer but with a VR headset it's really immersive. Unfortunately it also made me very queasy! You control how you move around in the game with hand-held controllers but of course your body is standing still - otherwise you would walk into walls and furniture in the real world - and some people can't handle this dissonance. Responses in our family ranged from no ill effects, to feeling like they were going to fall over, to mild queasiness after an extended play, to feeling very sick and having to lie down for two hours (me!). I get motion-sickness quite often in the real world too, or during 3D movies, no it wasn't surprising. Sad though, it looks like a great game.

So hot today, 34C in the middle of autumn. Apparently the hottest April day in 160 years. Who says global warming isn't real?!

It fits

Saturday:

I tried on an old smaller pair of shorts today, not thinking they would fit, but they do! Awesome. Of course, I weigh less now that I have for about 15 years so I'm not sure how I could have any shorts smaller than that! (I lie. Of course I've got clothes more than 15 years old.)

Also I bought a new belt a few months ago but tried it on by just wrapping it around my waist and it only just made it to the first hole. When I got it home I realised I hadn't allowed for the bulk of the material it going over once I threaded it into pants, and it didn't fit me after all. I didn't try it again until a couple of days ago, when I found that it not only fits but I am now on the second hole - even over thick jeans. So yay.

And I'm noticing how much easier it is to cross my legs.

Say nothing

Friday:

I've been in touch with my work placement boss, so that is all sorted out. Of course on my first day, both children's schools have a "staff development day" and will be at home so I've got to get that organised!

At TAFE yesterday the young woman I sit next to, who was away last week, had a really bad black eye. I didn't say anything. It's such a stereotypical my husband/father/boyfriend beat me up thing I was scared to bring it up and embarrass her. But she was probably in a car accident or something and now it looks like I don't care? Other people in my class would have already seen her earlier in the week so if they were going to ask, they probably did days ago. She's probably told her story fourteen times already. Some situations are just awkward. My usual strategy is; if in doubt, say nothing.

I woke early yesterday with a very upset tummy. On and off bad all day. Bit fed up with the whole feeling sick thing, to be honest! Better today. And Aiden is finally more-or-less over his cough. And I didn't have brain-fog like I did with the flu so I managed to get a TAFE assignment done. I got back one I lodged a couple of weeks ago while sick (on the second try, first time I lodged I uploaded the cover sheet twice), only missed one thing, 14/15 so I was happy with that. There is only one week left of this term so a lot of things have been due.

Weekend again already? Time is speeding up.

Plant attack

Monday:

After Easter Show and Easter eggs, and it being that time of the month, I am up 0.2 kg this week. Never fear, it will go again quickly. As long as I manage a moderate chocolate intake! So much Easter stuff in the house.

A couple of garden-related things happened today. I went outside for about two minutes, and reached over some bushes to move a pot. Half an hour later I had a stinging rash up the inside of both arms. It only lasted an hour or two, but it was weird because I’ve dealt with those plants many times over the past two years and not had a reaction. It was a fern, I think, that got me; with little bronze hairs on the stems. When my arms started to hurt, I realised I had the hairs stuck all over my shirt. Maybe they only attack at a certain time of year.

Then Tim was out the front mowing the lawn when our neighbour came out with a chainsaw and asked if we’d like him to trim the tree between out properties (but on our land). It definitely needed a trim, branches were trying to take over our driveway and some were too heavy for the tree and collapsed on the ground. And it was blocking the water meter. So we said yes, but of course Tim had to stay and help drag the branches around and we had visitors arriving so he was all filthy and sweaty while they waited. And the tree has gone from full and bushy to rather bare at the bottom. I don't think Tim is entirely happy, but I am satisfied with the result and we didn't have to pay anyone to do it.

We had family over in the afternoon for Dungeons and Dragons, and then friends over in the evening so it was a busy day. I ate a lot less 'junk' (some Doritos and a chocolate marshmallow bunny) than I used to, but more than I should have. As usual these days, the bunny (sugar!) made me feel a bit sick. I never learn. Or maybe I do. A couple of times in the past few days I've taken only one or two bites of something sweet then decided I didn't want it so didn't eat it.

I haven't done any gardening (or any other exercise other than unavoidable walking) for two weeks while I had the flu, need to get started again tomorrow as I no longer have that excuse. The weather will be cooling again which makes it easier. I don't deal well with the heat.

It is my Poppa's 100th birthday coming up in May. My mother's father. 100! Still living in his own home without any assistance. Getting pretty deaf now and rather hunched, but otherwise fine. He's amazing.

Easter

Sunday:

We went to the Royal Easter Show yesterday. Tiring, but fun. We looked at some farm animals first: sheep, chickens, cows, alpacas, and horses. We skipped the pig pavilion! What a smell. Then we watched the lunch-time entertainment of working dogs rounding up cattle, precision car driving, and arial motorbike tricks. We had picked the coolest forecast day to go, but it was still very hot sitting in the sun so we went into the art and craft pavilion and then the food pavilion where we taste tested nougat, rocky road, jerky and chilli sauces. The kids got a show bag of lollies each, I bought one of chips but shared it around. I’d decided I wasn’t ‘on a diet’ for Saturday and Sunday but still took my Duromine so I wouldn’t go overboard. It worked well, I had bits of this and that but wasn’t interested in stuffing myself. We went to see the wood chopping, one of our favourites, and saw three events but it was stinking hot in the concrete stands with no shade. It’s like that every year - they really need to put a roof on! I started to feel really ill from the heat so we left and sat in the shade watching dog judging and then went home.

Today is Easter! We are not religious so for us it’s about family and chocolate. The Easter bunny had visited during the night so we had a hunt around the house, plus Tim and I gave each other and the kids bigger eggs. I had some chocolate after breakfast and more after lunch, but felt a bit sick from too much. I’m used to eating healthier these days. I still like chocolate and some other treats (not too sweet) but in much smaller quantities. My Easter stash should last me a long time this year!

Very hot autumn day, 32C in the afternoon, so we played board games inside then went for a swim in the pool and then family came over for dinner. Martha organised some Easter craft (painting eggs) and a hunt, she doesn’t believe in sugar for children so the kids found plastic eggs with blueberries, protein balls, or something that looked like rabbit droppings (?) inside and wooden painted egg decorations. My kids had enough chocolate already to not care, and would always be polite in any case, but weren’t impressed. We played board games after dinner.

Ping’s parents are here from China, they visit for months at a time but speak very little English (hello and thank you is about the extent) but this year her dad has an electronic translator. It’s the size of a mobile phone, you speak into it and it says it in the other language. Pretty cool. But some funny mistranslations that made no sense. Ping speaks both languages perfectly and was usually on hand to clear things up. Little Emma was having a tantrum about nothing when her grandad said something in Chinese that was translated into something in English I didn’t hear clearly but turned the normal tantrum into a full scale epic meltdown. Ping told Emma that the translator made a mistake but I’m not so sure...