Last night I went down to The Hollybush pub in Loughton and met up with some friends I hadn't seen since the end of last school year. It was so good to see these guys! Especially Italian David and Ray. We call Italian David that because there are three David's. Italian David, German David, and Canadian David (me). We all hang out. It gets confusing.
Anyway it was such a great time! I've discovered another pleasant difference between the beginning of this year and last. It's great to see "old" friends. Sure I've only known them for less than a year but they're great peeps!
My room mate Rachel is also back which is great and I'm hookin up with various other mates from last year. Good times!
Friday, August 31, 2007
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Antici...........................................................pation.
Well, went into school today again and met some more teachers. Got a bunch of textbooks I'm supposed to hand out into my classroom so that I can...hand them out.
Rarin to go. Really trying to get a handle on anything I can.
I'm paranoid about assessment and classroom management. Gotta get the kids functioning and create some sort of valuable experience based on some sort of coherent plan.
I'm really antsy. I just want to get started. Get the ball rolling. Move forward. Advance. In the meantime I'm reading up on all kinds of stuff about teaching reading and writing and trying to get a handle on how to run my class.
At least I'm feeling good and positive as opposed to burnt out and half suicidal like at the end of last year. There's nothing like a break and a change of venue to lift the spirit.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Geography
Interesting.
Last night I went out to meet a friend of mine who was in town who goes by the name of Matt Dowsett. Funny guy!
Anyway I was in Greenwich and upon getting off the train I realized I'd been there last year when I went on the "Tour of the Thames" (and the pubs it contains) with a couple of teacher's from my school. I had no idea where I was a the time. For the longest time I had these little pieces of London in my head but had no idea where they were or even in what direction I'd travelled to get there. I'm starting to link them all together. It's quite a thrill when I realize I'm somewhere I've been before and I actually know where it is, what's near it, and how I got there.
Makes me think of kids and how they learn...or people in general I suppose. Kids get all these random concepts in their heads that don't make any sense until they're able to relate them to other concepts and knowledge they know.
Anyway I'm starting to feel much more comfortable in this town.
Last night I went out to meet a friend of mine who was in town who goes by the name of Matt Dowsett. Funny guy!
Anyway I was in Greenwich and upon getting off the train I realized I'd been there last year when I went on the "Tour of the Thames" (and the pubs it contains) with a couple of teacher's from my school. I had no idea where I was a the time. For the longest time I had these little pieces of London in my head but had no idea where they were or even in what direction I'd travelled to get there. I'm starting to link them all together. It's quite a thrill when I realize I'm somewhere I've been before and I actually know where it is, what's near it, and how I got there.
Makes me think of kids and how they learn...or people in general I suppose. Kids get all these random concepts in their heads that don't make any sense until they're able to relate them to other concepts and knowledge they know.
Anyway I'm starting to feel much more comfortable in this town.
Monday, August 27, 2007
A Day at The Globe
Babagenouche and I went to The Globe yesterday afternoon to see "Love's Labour's Lost." It was quite a thrill to walk into an exact replica of the Shakespeare's original theatre on the exact location that it was first built. We bought tickets for 5 pounds and stood as "groundlings" in the standing section around the stage. The play was fantastic! Imagine! 5 pounds to see world class Shakespeare at The Globe in London!Here's the ticket:
7 Days of Veggies
Well it's been a week of solid vegetarianism and I have to say it ain't that hard! There was one slip where I went to a friends house and he'd made a pasta sauce with (unbeknownst to me prior to tasting it) pancetta in it but I ate it anyway. I figure a little sprinkling of meat in one pasta sauce isn't going to destroy the planet.
I think one of the things that made me figure I could do this was discovering there's a lot more to eat than just salad. In fact, I've eaten very little salad. My diet hasn't changed all that drastically other than the omission of meat from my meals.
Also, I've started to save plastic bags that I get from the grocery store and bring them back to reuse them. I always saved them and reused them but only once. I always put my lunch in a plastic bag but then I throw it away. I figure, if it's not torn or soiled, I'll just bring it home and reuse it. I did this 3 times last week and therefore saved 3 bags. I haven't been using them for lunches in general anyway since I'm not going into school and they're starting to pile up. So, I figured I'd bring them back to Sainsbury's and just reuse them there. First time I've ever done this was today. Two bags saved! Less oil and pollution! Go Environment!
There's a store here called ethical superstore which I just discovered. I think it's fairly new. I'm not sure. I'll be checking it out when buying stuff. Not sure what the prices are like. I checked those energy efficient light bulbs and they seem way more expensive than I could get them elsewhere but I haven't really looked that much into other products.
It's based in the UK but here's the website for anyone who's interested: www.ethicalsuperstore.com
The UK is just so far ahead of Canada in Environmental initiatives that it just ain't funny.
I saw solar charger for phones, ipods, cameras etc on there and I thought that's a great idea! I wonder how much energy comes off the grid to recharge all those items? I wonder how much of your energy bill consists of energy used to charge stuff. You could save money! See, every time these sustainable and green technologies are used it benefits the environment and the consumer.
I'm actually excited and encouraged by the green initiatives that are taking place. I read an article in the financial section of the paper the other day that said that Green Technology is expanding at 20% per year - which would get any investor excited. They're talking about a possible boom such as happened in communications in the 90's. This would probably be followed by the requisite "bust" but the internet and communications technology stayed and revolutionized our lives.
Green developments are being built everywhere. Even in Victoria BC! There's a great condo initiative there. In fact it's one of the best in Canada. I went to the show room when I was in Victoria and was really impressed. Valerie is thinking she might buy one. (Go Valerie!) You can read about it and watch a video about here: http://www.windmilldevelopments.com/resources_news.html
In London they created a "Congestion Zone" a few year back that charged you 8 pounds to if you travelled by car down town. This money went to fund more busses down there and it's cleaned up congestion, air quality and improved transit. Now they're proposing that high efficiency that get great gas mileage (smart cars for example) would pay nothing, typical cars would still pay 8 pounds, and inefficient cars like SUV's and sports cars would pay 25 pounds. Great idea I say. Reward the good cars and charge the bad. It'll lead to a shift in consumer spending which will make efficient technology cheaper.
I could go on and on but I'll have to leave some for another day.
I think one of the things that made me figure I could do this was discovering there's a lot more to eat than just salad. In fact, I've eaten very little salad. My diet hasn't changed all that drastically other than the omission of meat from my meals.
Also, I've started to save plastic bags that I get from the grocery store and bring them back to reuse them. I always saved them and reused them but only once. I always put my lunch in a plastic bag but then I throw it away. I figure, if it's not torn or soiled, I'll just bring it home and reuse it. I did this 3 times last week and therefore saved 3 bags. I haven't been using them for lunches in general anyway since I'm not going into school and they're starting to pile up. So, I figured I'd bring them back to Sainsbury's and just reuse them there. First time I've ever done this was today. Two bags saved! Less oil and pollution! Go Environment!
There's a store here called ethical superstore which I just discovered. I think it's fairly new. I'm not sure. I'll be checking it out when buying stuff. Not sure what the prices are like. I checked those energy efficient light bulbs and they seem way more expensive than I could get them elsewhere but I haven't really looked that much into other products.
It's based in the UK but here's the website for anyone who's interested: www.ethicalsuperstore.com
The UK is just so far ahead of Canada in Environmental initiatives that it just ain't funny.
I saw solar charger for phones, ipods, cameras etc on there and I thought that's a great idea! I wonder how much energy comes off the grid to recharge all those items? I wonder how much of your energy bill consists of energy used to charge stuff. You could save money! See, every time these sustainable and green technologies are used it benefits the environment and the consumer.
I'm actually excited and encouraged by the green initiatives that are taking place. I read an article in the financial section of the paper the other day that said that Green Technology is expanding at 20% per year - which would get any investor excited. They're talking about a possible boom such as happened in communications in the 90's. This would probably be followed by the requisite "bust" but the internet and communications technology stayed and revolutionized our lives.
Green developments are being built everywhere. Even in Victoria BC! There's a great condo initiative there. In fact it's one of the best in Canada. I went to the show room when I was in Victoria and was really impressed. Valerie is thinking she might buy one. (Go Valerie!) You can read about it and watch a video about here: http://www.windmilldevelopments.com/resources_news.html
In London they created a "Congestion Zone" a few year back that charged you 8 pounds to if you travelled by car down town. This money went to fund more busses down there and it's cleaned up congestion, air quality and improved transit. Now they're proposing that high efficiency that get great gas mileage (smart cars for example) would pay nothing, typical cars would still pay 8 pounds, and inefficient cars like SUV's and sports cars would pay 25 pounds. Great idea I say. Reward the good cars and charge the bad. It'll lead to a shift in consumer spending which will make efficient technology cheaper.
I could go on and on but I'll have to leave some for another day.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Boston Legal and the Mysteries of the Human Soul
Boston Legal.
Can I recommend this show to everyone? James Spader and Willam Shatner (of all people!) are brilliant! The writing is fantastic. It's quirky, funny, surprising, unpredictable, deep, takes on issues, and is full of sex and conflict to boot! Crazy demented characters who are more than meets the eye.... it's fantastic!
I recommend watching it on DVD so you can go episode by episode. It's not necessary to understand the show but it sure makes it more fun.
I love shows and movies that explore the inherent weirdness of people. We're all supposed to fit in these neat little boxes and be certain things but of course none of us do. Human's are all inherently weird in one way or another I think. We all have our secrets don't we?
With that in mind here are my favourite shows and movies and books involving weird fascinating and real people: (in no particular order)
1. Boston Legal (obviously)
2. Six Feet Under (the 1st season is perfect. slowly goes down hill after that)
3. American Beauty
4. Secretary (film with James Spader and Magie Gyllenhall)
5. Books by Dave Eggers
6. Books by David Sedaris
7. Notes on a Scandal
8. This is England (movie about how british skin head movement went from relatively harmless group of working class kids and was co-opted by white supremacists. Brilliant!)
9. Fight Club
Can't think of anything else off the top of my head but if anyone else can feel free to post.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Busy But Laid Back
I concur!
Bab went out today to scout buildings for her character in her upcoming project. They'll be using the pictures of houses around London to show where their characters live. They also took pictures of coffee shops and stuff that their characters would hang out in. Pretty cool actually. Good way of getting into the character as well. Just what sort of building would your character want to live in?
I had a chilled out but productive day. Did a lot of reading of "Yellow Brick Roads." Which is a book about teaching. We got it in University but I didn't have time to really process it. This is one of my big complaints about education. In fact I think it's everyone's complaint about education. The "Brain Dump." Like here's 1000 pages of text you have to read this week and then we'll talk about it. Then we'll do 1000 more next week! We were taught repeatedly not to do this in teacher's college...while they continued to do this to us anyway.
Why is it I read all the books I was supposed to read in University AFTER I finished University? I got curious about all those books sitting on my shelf. Schools have a real skill at taking the pleasure OUT of reading. I loved Harry Potter as do many other people I know. Now think if I told you that you had to read 4 chapters a day no matter what. How fun would that be?
How do I avoid this as a teacher?
I have no idea.
But I digress.
I'm really stoked about the upcoming school year. No matter what happens at least I'LL be interested in what I'm teaching. I have all this energy. I got all kinds of stuff done today, found resources for History and Geography. I'll be posting any good links on this blog to share with any teacher's out there who might be interested. Got mailing done, made notes and plans for English, went shopping. Very productive day!
And now to bed.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Return of the Killer Blog
I'm back! I know you've all been checking this daily since April 15th and now you will be rewarded. I admire your perseverance!
I'm back after 4 weeks off and feeling good.
I just went into my school today to get thing settled and I'm feeling really good about it. The school looks great. The head of English (who is also assistant head of the school) is really helpful and enthusiastic. I have good English teachers there to bounce ideas off and help me with ideas, resources look good, kids are supposedly fairly well behaved. Looks like it could be fun! I'm really looking forward to tackling the English and Drama stuff. History and Geography make me nervous but we will see.
The school looks to have a strong arts bent to it even though they're very geared towards formal comprehension for written exams. The kids at this school are gearing up to write entrance exams at elite schools at the end of year 8 so it's very important they can write those exams well. Hopefully I can keep up with them!
I feel way more relaxed and grounded this year even though I'm going to be entering a new school. First of all there was the 4 week visit back to Canada. Man that helped! It was great to see everyone. Sorry to those I didn't (Len, Cathy, Cara, Casey, Gord, Kerry, Warren, Cody, Jake, Jessie, Cori and everyone else!) Sure was sad to miss the FamDamily Camping Trip.
First of all it was so good just to get back to Canada and see open space and nature! Toronto is a oasis of calm compared to London so it was good to not feel so hectically rushed. It was great to see family and friends again and just hang out and relax.
Biggest highlights:
1. Brother's wedding and the speech that almost killed Mike. (I won't say why but I don't think anyone noticed he started over from the beginning halfway through)
2. Boat ride on West Lake in The County
3. Tofino!
4. Great times all around with friends and family. Absolutely wicked time!
Coming back is to England is a much different experience. I was hoping it would feel more like coming home than coming back to returning to a foreign land and it does. It feels normal to return here as opposed to the disoriented culture shock I went through last time. It's great to see friends here again and it feels good to be able to navigate the landscape, stores, and even dial a phone!
As I said the school looks great so I'm looking forward to that.
Big changes are up coming for Babagenouche and I but I think we'll settle for a bit after that.
1. Babagenouche will be done her showcase, school, and master's thesis in about 6 weeks! Then it's time to take over the BBC!
2. We'll be moving to West London somehow.
3. We may or may not have a room mate when we do that.
4. I'll be starting at the new school which is 2 hours away at the moment. Hoping to find temporary accommodation during the week somehow.
5. Our new place will hopefully be permanent for the next 2 - 3 years.
6. We're both trying to diet right and exercise to shed that holiday weight...well in my case that last 3 years worth of weight.
and to that end...
I'm officially a vegetarian.
Why?
It's all about the environment baby!
Why not eat meat? Well the reasons are numerous assuming you believe that Global Warming is an environmental crisis. If you don't, watch An Inconvenient Truth.
It's not about the animals for me it's about the humans and the planet.
Here are some off the top of my head:
1. Deforestation:
Forests are cleared for animals. Trees eat C02. Deforestation leads to global warming, harm to ecosystems - the usual stuff.
2. Food wastage:
There's only so much farmable land on earth. Much of it is used to grow food to feed animals that we eat. If we used that land to grown food to feed people we could feed more people.
3. Cow farts:
Major source of methane - bad for atmosphere. Seriously.
4. Water contamination:
Tons of animal "effluent" (shit and piss) from massive amounts of animals goes into water table and contaminates water supplies.
5. Health concerns:
Hormones, Drugs, Mad Cow, genetically modified animals, disease spreading in factory farms.
Etc. Etc. Etc.
I did a quick search on Google and here's a link with some info: (I'm not going Vegan tho)
http://www.veganoutreach.org/whyvegan/environment.html
Fairly random source but it's a start for those interested!
Right now I'm just not eating meat. I eat eggs and I'm trying to cut down on cheese. As for cutting out all products that have any animal product in them ( like lard in muffins or something)....not sure how I'll handle that. It'll be an adventure.
And finally...I'll be making this site accessible only to people I authorize shortly. This just means you'll have to create a user name and password.
I'm back after 4 weeks off and feeling good.
I just went into my school today to get thing settled and I'm feeling really good about it. The school looks great. The head of English (who is also assistant head of the school) is really helpful and enthusiastic. I have good English teachers there to bounce ideas off and help me with ideas, resources look good, kids are supposedly fairly well behaved. Looks like it could be fun! I'm really looking forward to tackling the English and Drama stuff. History and Geography make me nervous but we will see.
The school looks to have a strong arts bent to it even though they're very geared towards formal comprehension for written exams. The kids at this school are gearing up to write entrance exams at elite schools at the end of year 8 so it's very important they can write those exams well. Hopefully I can keep up with them!
I feel way more relaxed and grounded this year even though I'm going to be entering a new school. First of all there was the 4 week visit back to Canada. Man that helped! It was great to see everyone. Sorry to those I didn't (Len, Cathy, Cara, Casey, Gord, Kerry, Warren, Cody, Jake, Jessie, Cori and everyone else!) Sure was sad to miss the FamDamily Camping Trip.
First of all it was so good just to get back to Canada and see open space and nature! Toronto is a oasis of calm compared to London so it was good to not feel so hectically rushed. It was great to see family and friends again and just hang out and relax.
Biggest highlights:
1. Brother's wedding and the speech that almost killed Mike. (I won't say why but I don't think anyone noticed he started over from the beginning halfway through)
2. Boat ride on West Lake in The County
3. Tofino!
4. Great times all around with friends and family. Absolutely wicked time!
Coming back is to England is a much different experience. I was hoping it would feel more like coming home than coming back to returning to a foreign land and it does. It feels normal to return here as opposed to the disoriented culture shock I went through last time. It's great to see friends here again and it feels good to be able to navigate the landscape, stores, and even dial a phone!
As I said the school looks great so I'm looking forward to that.
Big changes are up coming for Babagenouche and I but I think we'll settle for a bit after that.
1. Babagenouche will be done her showcase, school, and master's thesis in about 6 weeks! Then it's time to take over the BBC!
2. We'll be moving to West London somehow.
3. We may or may not have a room mate when we do that.
4. I'll be starting at the new school which is 2 hours away at the moment. Hoping to find temporary accommodation during the week somehow.
5. Our new place will hopefully be permanent for the next 2 - 3 years.
6. We're both trying to diet right and exercise to shed that holiday weight...well in my case that last 3 years worth of weight.
and to that end...
I'm officially a vegetarian.
Why?
It's all about the environment baby!
Why not eat meat? Well the reasons are numerous assuming you believe that Global Warming is an environmental crisis. If you don't, watch An Inconvenient Truth.
It's not about the animals for me it's about the humans and the planet.
Here are some off the top of my head:
1. Deforestation:
Forests are cleared for animals. Trees eat C02. Deforestation leads to global warming, harm to ecosystems - the usual stuff.
2. Food wastage:
There's only so much farmable land on earth. Much of it is used to grow food to feed animals that we eat. If we used that land to grown food to feed people we could feed more people.
3. Cow farts:
Major source of methane - bad for atmosphere. Seriously.
4. Water contamination:
Tons of animal "effluent" (shit and piss) from massive amounts of animals goes into water table and contaminates water supplies.
5. Health concerns:
Hormones, Drugs, Mad Cow, genetically modified animals, disease spreading in factory farms.
Etc. Etc. Etc.
I did a quick search on Google and here's a link with some info: (I'm not going Vegan tho)
http://www.veganoutreach.org/whyvegan/environment.html
Fairly random source but it's a start for those interested!
Right now I'm just not eating meat. I eat eggs and I'm trying to cut down on cheese. As for cutting out all products that have any animal product in them ( like lard in muffins or something)....not sure how I'll handle that. It'll be an adventure.
And finally...I'll be making this site accessible only to people I authorize shortly. This just means you'll have to create a user name and password.
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