Where do all the hair-ties go?

I have run out. And I used to have a billion of them. I buy whole packets at once. Now alls I have left is a few ones that have lost their elasticity, so are useless. Half my hair was hanging out at netball on Monday because I had been reduced to using a baby-hairtie (little thin one that's got crappy tightness).

They probably go to the same place as the bobby-pins.

I know where some bobby-pins go. They fall down the back of boyfriends' beds. I was at Matt's house once, and my hair was haggard looking (as was the rest of me) and I was complaining about having lost my bobby-pins.... and he had just shifted rooms in his flat and pointed out that he had 'dozens' of them on the floor of his old room. So I went and had a look at the empty room and sure enough, lots of bobby-pins lying on the floor under his window. I scooped them right up.

Evasive little blighters, anyhow.

Irrelevant

Means nothing to anybody, since nobody from school reads this, but we may finally have a printer. The other place quoted us $20,000 (after it was only $12,000 last year). Now this new place quoted $13,000. We'll take that. Not sure how you can justify such a big difference! It was all in the graphic design lay-out cost. Varied hugely. I'm sure this place will be quite shite in its layout.... but alls I care about is getting the darned thing finished (I always get to this point fairly quickly). We were talking about management units at work today. There is a lady who gets one for looking after the staff kitchen (which seems to mean buying new plates every now and then and moaning at us all to get our food out of it at the end of term - the tea-lady does all the grunt work). She also gets one for doing 'the curtains'. I'm not even sure what that entails. Anyhow, that's $7,ooo or so right there. I get NOTHING for doing the school magazine. I felt jipped. As usual. There's something inequitable there. My three periods off a week for half a term is blimin' measly.

Final

We had our netball final yesterday. Bits of it weren't too bad. Bits of it were horrendous. Bits of it brought back memories of Ken and those phases of game where we'd start humming the Harlem Globetrotters theme to ourselves because we were so comically bad (we seriously would, me and Ken)..... I put my hand up as one of the people who had a shite fourth quarter. I think I did a back net pass or two that bounced off the rim (oops - too high).

We got horrible trophies for our efforts. They should just give us another free game voucher for making the final or something. They are creating a lot of garbage there.

Free Haircut

I got hooked into this great deal of being a mystery shopper at Rodney Wayne (Probably not allowed to say that in a public forum..... probably breaking some secrecy vow). I get a free haircut, so long as I fill out a four page survey. Sweet! And I can recommend five more people to do it. I think I have three volunteers already....... Cass or Ange - you keen for free haircuts?

Tuesday

Tuesday has become the busy day. It is either the day of Ange's Geeky Craft Night in the Hutt or Richard's Cheap Movie Night. Tuesday never looked so good.

News

I am studying newsy stuff with my Media Studies class. We watched last night's TV3 broadcast in class today. We had some good wee talks. After each item we paused and discussed why that was REALLY newsworthy (what interest did it spark in us). I think they're starting to really think about it. One of them (the smartest one, to be fair) even used the phrase 'medical ethics'. Ok.... so my class is the 'slower' one of the two. It doesn't take much to excite me with them. I got to put in a few shots about Winston's emotive hate-mongering. I like to turn the new generation off him wherever possible.

Better

I feel noticably better. Though still sick. I am now at a 'functional' level. Wouldn't want to have to play Centre at netball or anything yet though....

I was lip-synching in my mirror last night (doing air guitar too) and in the middle of that I realised I felt 'better'. I thought to myself, 'Something's different....' and figured out that was the first time in about three days I'd actually had energy and a bit of animation. The things we do when we're at home alone......

It was quite a novelty. My cheek is still puckered on the inside and peeling skin from where I slept with a lozenge in my cheek for a few hours. Evidently that's not a smart thing to do.

Luckily I am still sick enough for people at work to notice. It gives me an excuse for stuff I was supposed to have done this weekend but didn't. I felt slightly patronised when one of my more chatty girls actually said (quite nobly to the class, after hearing my croaky half-strength voice), 'Aw - listen to Miss! We should all be really quiet today!' in sympathy. I was about to launch into '... uh.... L------, shouldn't you be quiet while I'm talking EVERY day?' but then I figured I'd just go with it.

* * *

Magazine may be starting to stress me out again. Being sick all weekend put my timing off a bit too. Stink one. I wanna just start getting the meaty sections done, but they all rely on other people getting me the last few items or someone else proofing them...... Other people get in my way, damnit. And teachers are the WORST. Never trust a teacher to do something by the deadline. They flout them.

* * *

Flight of the Conchords is funny.

Now THAT's what I call basketball....

The grade my team are playing in this season is the Women's C Grade.

It is, from what I can deduce so far, a grade full of short Asian teams and old women (sometimes the teams are comprised solely of short old Asian women). While the Chinese community have always represented well in basketball circles and usually have good shooters and quick hands..... they do tend to suffer due to having, at most, one tall-ish player on the team (if that - and certainly not tall by MY giantesque standards).

Flash-back: It takse me back to my earlist basketball days, when I was a wee third former. My team of friends was hapless at best.... and only won one team all season (by two points) against the local Chinese girls' team, The Mavericks. It was good times!

And then there's my team. Former B-grade contendors.

I think I got at least ten blocks in my last game, and I scored somewhere in double figures. I even did a 'move' where I dribbled the ball and used my steps......

I am going to get everyone to start calling me Lightning Feet (due to my extreme quickness and yellow shoes) and might request some sort of theme song to walk out onto the court with (in slow motion). *

It's a good grade. We are 3-0.

* I'm not actually that good...... The teams with 'Masters' in their names make me feel young again, though!

**********************

Netball was good tonight. The other team were a male down, which probably hampered them. But we played generally well, I thought.

SWEEP THE LEG!

Damn. I forgot to get a photo of Jon in his sensai headband.....

Last day of frrrrreeeeeedom.

Friday - Steve Roger is back in the 04

Steve went to T-col with me and Fish and then taught at Wainui with Ed - so he knows a lot of our crew. He's been in England for the past four years teaching at badass schools and growing facial hair.

He is becoming Upper Hutt's official ambassador of cool. Living, working and partying in the UH. With a half British accent.

We went to Monsoon Poon (mmmm) and then played around with toothpicks at Kitty's. Ed's idea...... but Cassie took it to new levels with her twirling tricks.

Then on to .... uh..... Shooters with Marty and co. It met my expectations.

Saturday - Stone collecting

I went with Reidun to look for stones to make garden markers with (she's gonna paint them up with labels like 'Thyme'). My new yellow sneakers enjoyed the outing and were solid on the uneven rocks of the bays.

Saturday Night - Jono's Birthday Drinks

Jono still got IDed going into JJ Murphy's, even though he turned 32 yesterday. That's cool! I hope I'm like Jono when I grow up. Forever young.

I made it my new paparazzi mission to get photos of Michelle without hands in front of her face. I succeeded many times. I am the master! What will be my next drunken photographer challenge???

Justin got him the coolest present ever - a karate headband like the one in Karate Kid. I have ordered him to wear it for the whole game tomorrow. SWEEP THE LEG!

Jono is my new best friend. I shared my chocolate with him.

I got the yellow sneakers. Watch out!

* * *

I have to go in to school today. Stink. I have to sort out what's going on with the magazine (I have yet to get any support from anyone on any level - so am considering just chucking it in - as I have given fair warning I will do if no support is given in terms of help, time or money). That is not a nice thought. I'm not a quitter, but at the same time I'm not a martyr and my priority is teaching my seniors well before they go to exams and I just can't do that if I'm expected to produce a 130 page magazine at the same time (literally, the same time - I end up taking it in to class to work on while my seniors do 'quiet busy work', which is not great teaching).

* * *

I sent a dumb text last night. It was one of those instances where I was texting ABOUT someone..... and actually absent-mindedly sent it TO that person. And realised just after I'd pressed 'send'. ARGH! It could have been worse. But it still makes me cringe a lot. It wasn't good.

CRINGE CRINGE CRINGE. I tried to cover and make him think the tone was more flattering than it really was..... I hope he bought it.