Have finally logged out of Twitter. The line I was giving myself that there was useful info about teaching just feels hollow now. So much disagreement. My time would be better spent elsewhere, offline probably.
Day 3 📷 Card. Hua Hua is famous in Chengdu for her antics. The sign said the queue to see her was 2 hours so we skipped it. Overheard the queue was only an hour… But they just saw her butt! A postcard had to do.
Day 1: #toy Elise’s skateboard coach gave her this toy. I guess it has a proper name? Though I don’t know what. Can catch it like this now!
Very much enjoying The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin on Apple TV+. Noel Fielding plays himself and I’m ok with that. It’s very silly and full of well know Brits. 📺
Getting up at 4:45 to ruck 6km with 20kg in my overly expensive rucksack (get it?!) followed by a Gatorade outside the little shop by the bus stop is one of the highlights of my week.
On a side note, i really need to finish the non-fiction books I’ve started and never finished. Fiction provides an escape and non-fiction is just harder to pick up and read.
Finished reading: Down Cemetery Road by Mick Herron, author of the Slough House books. Enjoyed this a lot. Nothing too heavy. I think I just like his style. Will continue reading the rest of the series.
All Systems Red by Martha Wells, a quick read about a self-aware robot. Loved this.đź“š
When the dish is served with more chilli than meat… So good though and not even the spiciest thing I ate yesterday.
Finally finished Mr. and Mrs. Smith. I realised if it was released on a weekly basis we would have finished it around now. Yet, that feels like forever. I still prefer weekly releases. I don’t have the time to binge in any case!
This week will be all about writing reports and supporting new students with vastly different needs to the rest of the class. On top of everything else, of course.
Q. What’s the maximum distance I can outsprint a 5 year old on a bike?
A. Not as far as I thought. Also, I tired a hell of a lot quicker. Also, I feel a bit sick.
Huush
Huush - Full Performance (Live on KEXP) - YouTube
No idea what inspired me to click this link from KEXP’s YouTube channel. I follow it but rarely click anything honestly. Occasionally I’ll go back to one of Kae Tempest’s or IDLES videos. I don’t know why I did, but I’m glad I did. They are described as deciding to…
And I’m on board for that. There’s only a single song on Apple Music so I’ve been playing this short set on repeat in the meantime.
Weekly workouts
Been a topsy turvy week. It’s been book week and we’ve had new students and work has felt like too much - working 11 days out of 12 will do that. I drank last weekend too which just leaves me hungover for too long now. One actual hangover on Sunday and just feeling “off” Monday and Tuesday. Regardless, happy to still be putting the work in.
If I sorted my diet… Who knows! But I won’t, because food is delicious.
Lyra ran the workout on Thursday at her gym. Reminded me why I so enjoyed CrossFit and British Military Fitness before that. It’s all in the community.
Seth Rollins announcing the CrossFit Open 24.2 was the crossover of 2 interests that I never saw coming.
Lots of teachers didn’t answer and instead wrote to say that everything they did was productive, it was just that there was too much of it. Ultimately, the government either must reduce expectations on schools or reduce teacher timetables.
Currently reading: Renegades by Marissa Meyer đź“š
I don’t know how I feel about something that happened in the opening. Ain’t no way that would make it to a film version!
Finished reading: Joe Country by Mick Herron đź“š
Maybe my favourite? I like how, the storylines are so… small. I don’t know if that’s the word. So self-contained? I’ll be caught up soon.
5:15 alarm.
Normally my Apple Watch is set to vibrate as my alarm, though really it’s more like failsafe incase I sleep in. Which I never do. Last night I set my alarm for 5:15 so I could go out and ruck before everyone got up.
Except, I did not do the silent alarm. Which led to my phone going for it at 5:15 in the lounge this morning. This was obviously much harder to avoid, but did mean I got up. Not sure I’ll adopt it as strategy honestly. Much too high risk.
I did my ruck though, 6km in a smidge under an hour. Still enjoying Cosmic Gate’s Best of 2023 set as a sort of background to walking.
it’s not 7:57 and most kids are wide awake.
Relax. Be kind. Be patient. They’re not bad kids. You’re not a bad parent. They’re acting out because your house is safe to them, because they trust you, because this is a totally reasonable and expected response to the pressure-cooker that is childhood. Cut them some slack. And while you’re at it, cut yourself some too.
Needed this this morning.
33 Life-Changing Books Summarized in 20 Minutes - YouTube
An interesting list of books by Mark Manson I’ll probably never get around to!
I just feel weird about teaching at the moment.
I struggle with feeling like I’m not doing my job well enough, because I don’t have enough time. But I don’t have enough time because I go to the gym for my physical and mental health or because I go home so I can spend time with my children.
Love these books.
Finished reading: London Rules by Mick Herron đź“š