Yellowtrampoline

Well, the piggies are both doing well and are still utterly adorable and entrancing – I’ll try to get some more photos up at some point. I do think that they’re both pregnant though! So we may soon be having a bit of a guinea pig population explosion. This was never what I wanted and I got them from a rescue to try and avoid this very situation, but it seems that this is the situation we’re in so we’ll have to make the best of it we can. I’m really quite worried about them as it can be quite dangerous for fully-grown adults, especially if they’ve not had babies before, but hopefully they have and it’ll all go ok. Then I can rehome the little ones once they’re a few weeks old and I can get back to normal with my two gorgeous girls. Fingers, toes and paws crossed.

In other news, I have tonight feasted on pancakes and chocolate (after dinner of fishcakes, I’m not completely nutritionally deprived) in preparation for Lent, in which I will not be consuming any dairy products whatsoever. People ask me why, and to be honest I’m wondering the same thing myself, but my response has been the same each time – because I thought it would be a challenge. Well, it should be that. I mean – no cheese! For six weeks! Not even a little low fat yoghurt I’ll survive, though, and it might even do me good, especially if I manage to go to the gym as well.

Sorry about that. In reply to Stephen, no, I’m not found on Twitter at all, but that’s barely worse than here – I haven’t updated in nearly a year! I’m still in the same job, and it’s still awesome, and I now have a permanent contract, hooray! I will try to update soon, maybe with some cute pictures of my hopefully-soon new arrivals… (no, i’m not having a baby, before you ask)

Well, I’ve been here for five weeks now, and it’s still going well.  I’ve settled into the once-weekly mother watch routine, and have had no complaints of the food so far!  Everyone’s lovely and friendly and helpful.  There are still a few things admin-wise I haven’t got my head round, but it’ll get there.  I’ve successfully navigated a major cleaning order, including filing of invoices, and managed to get some squirty bottle tops for free which looked like they should come with the bottles but didn’t.  We have a new, currently temporary, cleaner, which takes the pressure off the rest of us somewhat, so I haven’t mopped anything in over a week!  Before that I was mopping pretty much every day, which was fine, but I’m glad I don’t have to as much now.

I’ve observed lots of Rivers and Woodlands courses and some holiday activities, which I should start teaching over Easter.  I’m teaching Rivers next week!  And today and tomorrow I get to go and play with newts.  Laurence is running British Amphibians and Advanced British Amphibians courses, and I’m going to both, the first to learn how to back up an adult course and the second for my own interest.

I have also learned three important things about the Forest.  Firstly, that it gets a capital F, secondly, that a Forest doesn’t have to contain any trees, and thirdly that a Forest is an area of land set aside for use by the Crown.  So there.

I have a job! Hooray! It was all very quick and sudden, and I only heard about the opportunity last thursday and now here I am 12 days later and two days in. It’s as a Hybrid Tutor in Epping Forest, and I’m enjoying it so far. Obviously not teaching yet as I need to learn how things are different here, but I’m settling in. So that’s good!

Lost Generation

Again, it has been far too long. I have still not given up on my yellowtrampoline, but life tends to get in the way a bit now, I’ve found. So what have I been up to? My job at Amersham was amazing, I adored it and the people I worked with. However, sadly there was not enough in the coffers to keep all of the trainees, and Teresa was the lucky one to get the tutor job, so after two extra months as a hybrid tutor (slightly more pay) I left the centre, and, of course, my new home and friends, Brownies, WI…
So now I’m back at home for a bit. I’m not as despondent as the last paragraph may make out, I promise. I’m fully aware that the tiny but perfectly formed centre at Amersham might one day have felt too cramped, and in some ways I’m grateful that I never got to that stage. In other ways, of course, I wish I was still there!
My job search has thus far borne no more fruit than a couple of interviews, and although that is a good start, it’s not a job, is it? The main, sometimes only, reason given for not employing me has been that others had more experience. But, if noone will employ me, how will I get experience?!
I’ve decided the answer lies in more applications, hopefully interviews, and Oxfam, so I’ve started volunteering in a local shop, about once a week.
So, there, I’m up to date. Back to the application grindstone.

I might even get around to photographing the one I made so you all can see it too. I’m impressed with how easy it was!

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