Neat Chairs!

Today was one of those crazy crazy days!

I usually head my jobs lists "Jobs", "Priority" or "Urgent". However, today's was headed "Yeah right, you've got to be kidding!"

Before I went out I cleaned the rat cage, wrapped Scharwenka's parcels, sorted out some of the most urgent admin and post, and set up files for the last lot of teaching practice planning.

Then I went into Oxford to receive an award! Yes, an award, for me! A certificate that can go on the wall!

The awards were held here, in a room in the mental health charity for which my "job lady" works. It was her who'd put me forward for the certificate, as a result of my efforts to get back into the world of work and make some sort of success of my life rather than just sitting on my backside being a wibbling nutjob for the rest of my life.

I was very impressed with the layout of these chairs. I wondered whether, knowing that everyone sitting on them would have a mental health condition, they had been spaced widely to allow for good personal space, or whether the person arranging them was an OCD sufferer, since they're so neat! I chose a nice seat in the corner.

It was strange to be back in the old world again. Back where things were familiar, where pretty much everyone there was talking about mental health, the challenges that mental health disability represents, and the work being done to overcome those challenges. I can't praise the people who work here highly enough - it is in no small part because of them that I'm out in the world, have nearly completed a CELTA course, and may end up with a job, a productive life, and a good deal of satisfaction rather than living my life out on benefits in a wibbling mess.

After the certificates had been handed out, we had tea and cakes, and I talked to a lovely lady who had previously been a primary school teacher, but was now hoping to get work as a part-time teaching assistant. I also talked to one of the support workers who had, herself, done a CELTA a few years ago - she was gobsmacked that I'd managed to do it!

Then we had a talk on the benefits system from one of the experts at the centre. It was really useful to know what's happening to both DLA and ESA, since some of it may well impact directly upon me. The more I can continue to claim while doing some permitted work, the slower I can return to independence, and the more chance it has of ultimately being successful.

Then it was time to go home and get working on CELTA stuff again. Back to lesson planning (or at least the bits that I wasn't writing on the back of my old shopping list during the less interesting moments of the day). I worked until 9.30, when the Wonderspouse got home and we had supper. I then carried on working until about 11.30, when it was finally bath and sherry time (I've taken to the cream sherry recently - I always associate the stuff with Christmas), and bed time.

We set the alarm extra early, because snow was forecast!