Work experience

Tuesday:

Jasmine came to my library to do her work experience last week. It was great having her there. The other staff showed her various things but she also spent a lot of time with me on a couple of major projects. I think she enjoyed her week.

One of the things we worked on was preparing for a storytime. Jasmine helped choose the books and music, helped prepare the craft activity (cardboard Christmas-tree ornaments) and we made musical instruments out of rice in balloons so the kids could shake along to "Jingle Bells". At the end of the session the children presented me with a huge card that they had all drawn on and told what they liked best about coming to the library. How lovely! Of course it was not just for me, Lyn has done most of the storytimes until the last few, and everyone helps when needed, so I left the card in the tea room but took photos for myself. (This is one of several pages.)

It was my last week at the library for the year. I'm a casual, so I don't know yet what is happening next year, neither do they. I brought all my stuff home, and they gave me a poinsettia (flowering pot plant) to thank me for my help this semester - it felt a bit too much like a farewell! But I hope I'll be back next year, whenever someone takes a holiday. There is going to be a bit upheaval in the department that owns the libraries next year, so even permanent staff don't know what will happen.

We put up our Christmas tree, and I've done a tiny bit of Christmas shopping. Still a lot to do!

Aiden suddenly looks like a teenager instead of a little boy. He has shot up, his feet are bigger than mine, he seems to be growing a moustache, and his voice is breaking. I'm not sure what his school report card will look like this year, he is smart and does well in class but doesn't do much homework or complete assignments if they have to be done at home - too addicted to computer games - and I'm not home to make him. We'll all have to make more of an effort next year to get him studying, and away from the screens. Jasmine has had advance notice that she got seven As and four Bs, (while doing dance, band, and competitive acrobatic gymnastics before and after school!) she doesn't know it but she'll be getting an award on Presentation Day next week. 

My weight remains stable, around 73-74kg. I've stretched out my script for Duromine (phentermine) by going on and off it. It only supresses my appetite strongly if I take a break, then it works for a couple of weeks. I have a few left but stopped taking it five days ago. I've been so tired that I've been having a couple of naps every day since I stopped work. As far as the internet can tell me, phentermine not addictive and has no withdrawal symptoms (unless you really abuse it with high doses and inject it or something), I used to be this tired sometimes before ever starting phentermine so I think taking it was masking my sleep apnoea issues. Also I have in the past had pernicious anaemia because although I eat plenty of red meat etc I don't absorb vitamin B12 very well. I couldn't find the B12 brand I had been taking and I think the alternative I found didn't work so well, I had some odd symptoms (tingling feet, mouth ulcers, muscle weakness, the exhaustion) and found that they can all be attributed to the low B12. Without B12 you can't produce healthy red blood cells. So I'm back on the "good" pills that you dissolve under your tongue instead of swallowing and I'll see if I improve within a few more days or it's back to the doctor.