Too Excited for Words!

This is my first blog post written on my brand new, shiny MacBook Pro. I have officially become a Mac user and I am loving it! I really can't describe how excited I am, but I feel like a kid learning to walk. I feel like this should be easy - after all I am very computer literate, but the Mac really requires a different mind set from that needed for a PC and so it is going to take me some time. Now I just need to work out how to install Final Cut Studio for hours of fun. Watch this space for my first creation!

The Show's Over

That's it for another year; Market Boy is over after a 4 night run. I am exhausted, but this play has been really good fun to do. In fact one of the most enjoyable I've done for quite a while and I think this is a lot due to the fact that the group have been very cohesive and therefore great to work with.

So the busiest two or three weeks of my year is coming to and end. With the play now finished I can concentrate on getting my reports completed and get the horrible SATs  marking out of the way. I'm quite looking forward to getting my life back!

A Little Relief

The snake ate yesterday. He was a bit tentative at first but the mouse soon disappeared. I'm still not convinced that this means everything is OK, but it is at least a good sign. Perhaps it really was coincidence that he was off food the last two times I tried to feed him. Anyway, I feel a little better now and I have made a decision; I am going to bring Galahad home in the summer holidays.

He has done very well during his time in school. Lots of children have learnt a huge amount from looking after him. Now I think that it is only fair that he lives his last days in peace and quiet, away from prying eyes, grasping hands and noisy classrooms. It is time I retired him and if he is at home I can keep a more careful eye on him.

I feel quite sad - after six years, Snake Club is over.

To Do Lists

I am a list maker to the core. I have lists for everything. I have even been known to add things I have already done to new lists, just so that I can cross them off! I find list making incredibly cathartic, in fact I don't think I could function properly without them. So here is my latest list (and I might keep adding to it, but you can also be sure I'll get things crossed off); things I want to do/ see in London.

• See a play (or two) at the Globe
• Join an orchestra - done, see www.rodingplayers.co.uk
• Go to the open air Shakespeare at Regent's Park
• Go on the London Eye - done (twice, but always worth a go, and never without a camera)
  
• Go on a Jack the Ripper tour
• Visit Spitalfields Market
• Find a good, and not extortionate, Sushi restaurant

Hmm, the more I add, the more I feel is missing...

Grey Days and Weekends

The Under Toad was strong today. I could feel it in the fine, soaking drizzle that descended on the afternoon. But it was more than that. Today was not a good day to be out of bed!

It is an odd feeling when a day changes direction. This morning was fine, even the weather was reasonable, but by mid-morning the shift had happened. I had another bout of dizziness, and it came on really fast. I was fine going down the stairs but on the way up I felt like I was going to fall over. It was so bad that all I could do when I got to the classroom was sit with my head on my knees. It was the quietest the kids were all day, although the fact that my ears went funny at the same time might have contributed to the quiet! I felt less dizzy as the day went on but it didn't really go completely until the evening.

After school I went to do Snake Club as usual. The minute I picked up the snake he felt wrong; too light and weak in the muscles. We offered him a mouse - a big one, since he refused food last time it was offered and he was likely to be hungry. He refused it. That's 4 weeks now without food.

He was milky, so it might just be that he refused the mouse because he is preparing to slough, but that never used to stop him. Galahad has always been a voracious eater. His refusal of food added with the fact that he felt weak makes me think that this might be the beginning of the end for him. He will be 19 years old in July; a very good age for a corn snake. I have to prepare myself for the possibility that he is dying. I managed to hold my emotion in check and I got though Snake Club, but at 4 o'clock that was it, the Under Toad broke through.

Yes, today was a bad day. I am hoping that the weekend is better.