Something Familiar!

Check out my blip for December 2nd last year! Check out my blip for December 2nd this year!

Notice a similarity!!!! ;-)

So, what's been going on since yesterday's blip?

1. Lovely Theodora8 rang me on the landline at home, asked me if I was at home (!!!) yesterday lunchtime, and then told me the afternoon play on Radio 4 was about a hamster. I listened to it - it was indeed about a hamster and was was absolutely hilarious - the hamster kept growing, and eventually got to 7 feet tall! After listening I went upstairs and was relieved to find Laura and Robbie were still small!

2. We got up this morning and went off to work and college. Just before teaching in college, one of my colleagues had a row with one of my tutors, which made for a dramatic, if somewhat unsettling start to the day.

3. My teaching was OK, although I was too tired and it felt like rather hard work. Feedback was OK though. A few amusing moments during observing other lessons: "What's the difference between glasses & spectacles?" "Nothing, they're the same." "Can you drink out of spectacles then?" and "Have you got any children", response from a male student: "I don't know"!!!!

4. After teaching we had to interview a student and tape record the interviews so we can analyze their pronunciation for our assignment. I interviewed a very nice young man from Spain who, it turns out, is ON HOLIDAY in Oxford and spending his entire year's annual leave sitting in English classes in order to better himself by learning English. Wow! I thought I was into learning stuff, but I'm a mere dabbler by his standards!

5. Then I walked through town, and a lot of it was closed off for a Christmas lights thing in the evening. Slightly surreal to walk on traffic-free roads, and to see "Hook the Duck" outside the Ashmolean. It looked like it would be rather nice, as there were food stalls and so on. I briefly felt a little sad that I don't really understand Christmas or have any money to go and buy little crafty bits and bobs from nice stalls and stuff, but only briefly!

6. I got on the bus and met an old colleague from a job I had many years ago. Lovely to see her, and I sent regards to a couple of other people I used to work with, who she's seeing next week.

7. I turned on my phone to find a very mysterious voicemail message. I thought it was a wrong number at first, but then realised it was Ipswich Hospital calling about the Wonderspouse's aunt. I called them back and was asked if I was next of kin. Seriously hoping they weren't about to inform me of her demise, I explained who I was, and they said she was ready for discharge and I could come and pick her up! I explained that I was over 4 hours drive away, and then established that they needed to discuss her care plan on discharge. I said I'd see what I could do to help, then called the Wonderspouse at work, who then called his Dad (who'd been unreachable because he was at Exeter Hospital with MiL, who was having her day's radiotherapy), and set things in motion!

8. Then I had lunch with Scharwenka, which was the most normal thing I'd done so far in the day! Mrs Scharwenka showed me her kindle, which she'd had for her birthday, and told me about her friend's grandchild who'd had a dinosaur war in the sitting room. I thought I'd like a dinosaur war!

9. Then I came home to a cold house and a lot of cat mess. I cleaned the carpet, turned the heating on, dished out 5 bowls of tuna chunks in jelly, went upstairs, dished out 4 apple biscuits and cuddled the ratties, then settled down for the evening.

10. Dinner was a solo affair, since the Wonderspouse was out doing somethingorother. I had the chocolate orange pictured above for first course, a curry-flavoured pot noodle for afters, and washed it down with a bit of flat pop I'd found in my college bag. Not exactly gourmet, but contained fruit, spice and liquid, and had a warm component, so was good!

11. I then fell asleep under a blanket and two cats on the sofa. I woke when the Wonderspouse called just before eleven. I collected him from the bus and he came home and cooked more supper - this time cheese on toast, slices of bacon, and two different sorts of fudge (whisky cream and chocolate orange), all washed down with a couple of large glasses of Pinot Grigio!

12. Then I fell asleep in the bath for a bit, and finally got to bed!