Auteur: Gudrun

Project week at school: Heart of Europe. That’s me with four other colleagues managing 68 hormone-filled adolescents of 14 years old in Springtime. Yay.

Monday we went to Dover Castle and Canterbury. Got stuck in traffic for over an hour, so we couldn’t complete the whole programme. Exhausted after a 6.45 – 22.30 day.

Tuesday: slept long, was in the Laser-shooting pub at 13.30u. Great great fun was had ! Me with 13 of those little mongrels in the game, and I fucking won ! They hunted me all over the place, I had the most fun ! One minor thingy tho: managed to sprain my ankle once more. Nothing too serious, I thought, so went shopping, cooked, put the ankle in an elevated position, iced it, and that was that.

Right. At night it started hurting really bad, and the swelling was getting bigger too. Tough girl here tho:

Wednesday: 6.15 lift off to Trier: a beautiful German city with ancient Roman remnants. Way cool. Beautiful day was had, limping away across town. Got home by 23.00. Fell asleep instantly.

Today: slept long (heh), went to see the doctor: foot’s in a kind of plaster right now, need to walk with crutches once more. Foot is starting to piss me off. Grr. I see surgery in the future…
Off to school now again to work on the project.

I was sitting outside enjoying the spring sun and correcting some tests, but had to come back inside. The retired lady next door deemed it necessary to wake me up this morning by mowing her lawn at 10.00 am (against the law that states you can’t operate any noisy machinery on a Sunday), and now she’s bloody vacuüming it !!!

No shit !

Just been impregnated once more with three embryos who have been defrosted. Results on March 25.

Pretty busy week, yet a nice one.

Got a really nice surprise on Friday (I was lucky to be home): this big flower bouquet, a dozen of deep red roses, very very beautiful! There was a little card attached, with nothing but a kiss and a Scots name. Thank you sweety 🙂

Bart and I don’t really do Valentine’s day: I don’t need a date to love him, or to express that love. On Wednesday I made his favourite dish, and his big smile from ear to ear and the lights in his eyes are more than enough 🙂
So we just had our usual Friday coffee and dinner, and then went home and watched a DVD: ‘Titus’, after ‘Titus Andronicus’ by Shakespeare, with Anthony Hopkins and Jessica Lange. Man, it’s such a good movie, but harsh, violent and cruel, and not exactly Valentine’s Day fodder :-p

Yesterday I got up real early and started cleaning the guest room: cleared away all the junk, put a lot of stuff in the emptied cupboards or back here in my office, rearranged all the furniture, so that the room looks a lot bigger. I was tired and covered in dust, but it’s well worth it. Gonna start redecorating next weekend, I think: stripping the wall paper, painting, the lot.
Went to my physiotherapist in the morning by bicycle, and proud of that! Not that it’s that far (like 3 miles/5km or so) but I’m so pathetic that even that pleases me.
In the evening we went to friends for a most pleasant evening: very good food, delightful company, swell conversations.

Today I worked a bit for school, and then went for lunch at my parents: once more delicious food, then coffee, then a nice walk in the bright sunshine and freezing cold. Hehe.

Tomorrow will be a long day: school field trip to Tongeren, a city with a splendid Gallo-Roman museum and lots of remains of that era in the city too. So I’m going there with 5 colleagues and 101 students (1-2 grade). Took a lot of organisation too, so I hope it will be worth it.

God I feel absolutely blergh. Had a meeting this afternoon with all the Latin teachers in my school group, and the paedagogical advisor (inspector). We discussed a lot of things, seems I have to rethink my way of teaching, like we all have to do.
But worst thing is: if the minister of education gets her way, Latin won’t be taught anymore from 12 years on, but from 16 years on, being fifth grade instead of first. Great.

Gwen asked: ‘So, should we start studying something else soon, or do you think we will have some time left ?’ The inspector raised his eyebrows, and consequently his shoulders.

Yep, that’s the way I feel: lousy ! I love my job, I don’t feel like finding sth new when I’m 40 or so.

Does anyone have too much money ? I stood a few moments ago in front of the biker shop, drooling… I really really want a new motor bike, my heart starts yearning as soon as there’s a bit of sunshine. Talked to the guy tho, and he said I need at least € 6000 (about the same in $) if I want something decent second hand. Grrr… Right now I have € 3100 set aside for it, but I’m sure something will come up, so that I have to spend some of that again.

Sniff…

Apparently we’re having one of the first spring days today ! Sun is shining brightly, and there’s a gentle breeze in the air. Took my bicycle and did some errants, it was lovely ! I didn’t even need any gloves or shawl or anything, and I did hang the laundry outside. Yay 🙂
Saw the first daffodils and crocuses showing their tender green heads too, just a shimmer of green in the earth. Nice. One has to love spring, no ?

Bart’s going to the loo, pretty unnoticed. He comes back to me, looking like a little boy, and stammers: ‘Err, could you give me a hand ?’
Surprised look on my face.
‘I’ve got these new pants on, and I can’t work the buckle of the belt. I don’t know that system. Can you open it for me ?’
Needless to say the first 30 seconds even I couldn’t work that buckle.
Poor hon.

Grrr…
Kinda pissed at unterm_galgen: he promised me he’d join me at the Scottish night at school. I have to be there, and keep open the whisky bar for an hour and the regular bar for another hour. If he were there, at least I’d have someone sensible -although that can be doubted- to talk to. I just called his house to ask what was keeping him, and his mom tells me he’s at the movies with some friends.

Thx for standing me up, man 🙁

* snow has gone… Completely. Shame

* started yesterday on a kind of a diet. It means cutting all sweets, sugar in my coffee, mayonaise-based salads, sugarloaded drinks,… Sticking to low-fat meat, veggies, oil instead of butter to fry with, that kinda thing. I’m trying to lose a bit of weight (should lose a lot, but hey, I’m a mere realist, not so much an optimist). Luckily I don’t seem as heavy as I am: X thought I weighed 15 kilos less than I actually do. Heh. Glad for that. But still very fat tho. Should actually lose 25 kilos (+- 50 lbs.) Gnawing on Bart’s arm at the moment. Frustrated. Grrr.

* have loads of correction work lately. Blergh

* Arm hurts severely again. Physiotherapist said it would, it would get worse before it gets better. Hmmm. Nearly had to take a painkiller after yesterday’s session.