I managed one Saturday evening with Colin and Roland watching Janacek's Jenufa live from the Bavarian State Opera.
Well, term finished today in advance of Easter and I have literally not had a moment to pause and think from the time I went back after half term.
Pretty much the moment we got back, we had a two day LEA (Local Education Authority) review which apparently was even more ferocious than Ofsted are likely to be. My observation was supposed to be at 10am for the last half hour of a Maths lesson with Year 5. Bastards arrived at 9:45. Undaunted, your hero sailed on and achieved a solid Good - which, for an NQT, is apparently quite an achievement as they make no concessions as to prior experience. I moved into an auxilliary role for the next day or so covering for everyone else as I had no further observations. School was very tense but, by the Wednesday, it was all over and we could get back to what passes for normal.
With one small exception, I've kept my head down and worked pretty much constantly what with planning and marking and assessing. I've not socialised; I've not even seen my family though we've kept in touch.
By the end of it, well, I've survived, I'm better at the job but it's like, the more I put my head above the parapet, the more the horizon recedes rapidly away from me.
And I also think that I cannot keep working at this intensity. I have to find ways to nourish me on top of everything else.
I managed one Saturday evening with Colin and Roland watching Janacek's Jenufa live from the Bavarian State Opera.
Even the presence of Karita Mattila in the title role, together with Stefan Margita and Gabriele Schnaut, could not detract from the awfulness of the Eco-disaster production. Thank goodness it's a short evening; I twitched uncomfortably throughout though I think that that was more to do with an unholy urge to get back to my school work.
I've also had some stern (nay even strident) messages from Paul who Ross and I met up with during half term. He appears to have heard our general suggestions that it would be pleasant to see him again some time as a verbal contract that we would be seeing him regularly. As gently as possible, I tried to dissuade him of this notion but received a somewhat huffy response that he had bills to pay.
I suppose that this is a mark of how innocent I am at this game. I had allowed myself to become involved on the assumption that it was all about a contract to engage in some sort of straightforward fun which would be offset through pecuniary reward.
I'd not understood that there was an extra clause which Paul had felt was implicit in which I had agreed to cover his living expenses. I don't feel as though I ever wanted to sign up to that sort of overt commitment.
I am also concerned that, at home, I am hardly doing any cooking; I'm relying whole-heartedly on Ross for sustenance - he shops, cooks and washes up with ne're a word of discontent.
I've not been in the back garden to savour the onset of spring.
Apart from the washing and ironing of clothes, I've hardly done any housework.
I've not seen my dad.
I've not sat back to enjoy any live performances in situ.
I know that I'm investing in the future but the balance is also important.
However, I have had news from school that they want me to take on a year's contract with them starting in September. This is a real fillip. As an NQT, I might have expected them to offer me a term's contract to complete my probation period with them before thinking about something longer term. To have the luxury of a whole year of financial stability with paid holidays is quite a relief at the moment.
Oh, and we had more snow. This really has been the coldest spring I can remember for a long time. I know that we've not had it nearly as bad as many outlying rural areas but there's really not been much let up in the icy cold winds. Thank goodness we can set up a roaring fire in our front living room.