An hour and 12 minutes to go!

We are going to eat supper early so that we are ready to direct all our attention to the 'Doctor', as he is known. If you are thinking of calling, don't between 7:00p.m. and 7:50 (it ends at 7:45 but we'll need a bit of de-briefing time). Cliff has suggested that I could use a blanket to hide under instead of pulling out the sofa but I think that I'll stick with my first plan. Time seems to be going so slowly. Alas!

Dr. Who is back!

For those of you who are asking themselves, 'Who is Dr. Who?' (how sad!), he is the hero of countless generations (well, perhaps not countless but at least a few). He has been saving the world from alien invasion since the 1960's. In particular, he has saved us from the dreaded daleks whose very name strikes terror in the hearts of countless generations. Here I go again!. As you may have guessed, he is a television character and he is back tonight on our television sets at 7:00 p.m. Emma is coming home to watch with the family. Naomi and James in Swansea will be huddled round their set. In fact, all across the country children and adults alike will be waiting to be scared silly. I will be moving our sofa out from the wall so that anyone who feel the need can hide behind it during those unbearably frightening moments!

Fatigue

I am exhausted! That means that I won't be writing much today. In fact this could be it.

Blogging off!

According to an article in the Guardian today, people are starting to abandon their blogs. Now, most of the bloggers named in this article were celebrities. I wonder if they simply didn't have the time or perhaps they ran out of things that they felt comfortable putting on-line. An interesting statistic to go along with this is that 200 million people have abandoned their blogs. I can imagine that to be the case since so many people abandon their written journals. Why should blogs be any different.

I am now half way through my radiotherapy and beginning to be very tired. Today I had to have two naps. I'm still a little tired even after all that sleep. There are a few other side effects but I won't go into those. Just 3 and a half weeks to go and it's all over...April 20th in fact. I think that I'll have a celebration.

Rosaleen sings!

I work with a wonderful young woman named Roasaleen. (I had a shock the other day to realize that I was old enough to be her mother!) I knew that she played guitar and sang but I haven't heard her recently. Yesterday I overheard her talking about a song that she had put on YouTube. I just watched it and it's great. Here's the link. Have a look, listen and enjoy!

I am proficient in my PPE and I bet you are all very pleased for me!

I imagine that you are all as pleased as I am to discover that I am 'proficient' in my 'positive professional ethos'! Actually I think that I am distinguished as I said yesterday (either that or 'unsatisfactory') and that they should build a statue to me somewhere on the grounds. (Hopefully, you realize that my tongue is firmly in cheek again when I say this!) However, I suppose that I should be happy that I've been identified as an inspiration to all, and therefore deemed at least 'proficient'. I would have to have achieved sainthood to have gone any further.

I just want to say that I don't think of myself as inspirational. In fact, I feel very uncomfortable when people say it. I do what I do because when you are sick, all you can do is whatever it takes to get better. I go to school because I won't get paid if I don't go. How can that be, in any way, inspirational? I suppose people can take inspiration from the actions of others but isn't it dangerous to call the person, inspirational. I don't know. All around us, people are coping in silence with the most dreadful situations. The only difference between them and me is that I am obviously ill (especially evident since I lost my hair).

Then there is this question: Do we actually take inspiration from others and if so, what do we do with it? I can't think of any instances in my life where the actions of someone else have actually inspired me to do something. Can you? I'd really like to hear about the experiences of others.

Warm again!

Outside, it isn't warm but it certainly is indoors, ever since the furnace decided to turn on moments after the repairman arrived. He left quite quickly and arranged for another man to come today, just to do a more thorough check. No problem was found. Just ghosts in the works!

Today I came face to face with the idiocy of my school. I have managed to avoid it for most of the year by being sick and being there as little as possible. In order to be paid more next year, we have to prove that we show a 'positive professional ethos'. It doesn't matter how good a teacher we may be, if we don't have this positive professional ethos, we can forget it. Some people have spent so much time trying to prove this, that the time spent must have effected their teaching.

I've been thinking of where I stand on this rubric of positiveness. (Is there such a word?) I'm sure that my head of school would say that I am unsatisfactory because I always point out the absurdities in the world of ACS. I've decided to say that I am 'distinguished' in my positiveness. (Tongue firmly planted in cheek!) I am in the process of writing my rationale now and it revolves around the positive model I set by going to school all through my cancer treatment. I am an inspiration to all. (See Mary Jane, I have gotten over the guilt of using the cancer. It must be good for something!) If I don't receive the money, I may consider the possibility that they are discriminating against a disabled person. What fun!