No surprises here, really - Milo, who'd been a lone ferret for 2 years, passed away in his sleep this weekend. I was pretty certain he was 2 when I got him and that was back in 2011 ( Read more... )

Help me, flist, to make up my mind about something ( Read more... )

Okay, what's been going on since my last post way back in September? Well, the weasel is still alive, though I swear he gets scrawnier every time I look at him - still, as long as his quality of life is okay, I'm not going to complain ( Read more... )

I'm now a couple of weeks into the routine of the academic year, so I'm getting used to regular times and days once again. Two of my classes are nearly full, which is excellent, while the other is struggling a bit so it's not currently clear if that will continue or not - half-term is the date for a decision on that, so we'll see what happens. In ( Read more... )

Okay, that sounds much more dramatic than is actually the case, but it's as good a title as any so we'll go with it! Yes, it's the summer holidays (so that, in the UK at least, means torrential rain alternating with days which are quite nice) and I have 3 weeks left before I have to actually start trying to teach something to someone. Which means ( Read more... )

*sung to the tune of 'I Left My Heart in San Francisco*

Yes, I have returned and (in the time-honoured philosophy of going on holiday after a hectic period of work) managed to get sick while I was on Mull. Which wasn't too bad for the first couple of days but then I ( probably TMI )

Finished everything in terms of work on Friday, now to get off on holiday. Tomorrow I'm off to the Scottish island of Mull for about 10 days, though given the weather forecast it's quite possible I may decide to come home before then, as I'm camping and the forecast is Not Great. Still, as long as I have coffee and books, I shall struggle on ( Read more... )

Nearly at the end of term, thank heavens.

First off, the student teacher did not come back. I'm hoping it's been suggested to her that perhaps teaching is not really her thing and she ought to consider something else, but I have no idea if that's the case or not. I'm currently in the middle of organising and managing exams, not to mention ( Read more... )

I'll be the first one to admit I have an issue with second-hand embarrassment - it's something I absolutely hate seeing as a plot-line in TV or movies and will happily turn off a show if it goes down that route - so how much worse when it's working out right in front of you at work ( Read more... )

Maybe it's because I don't have a commute as such any more, but there's very few out there which can get and keep my interest beyond an episode or two - listening to something sat on your butt at the computer is a very different experience than listening while driving or whatever. I've not tried listening to spoken word stuff at the gym, so if ( Read more... )