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I've been thinking about the best way to get through these exam papers this weekend and it's worked well today.
I got up when I felt like it (which was still pretty early - 7:30); had some breakfast and then got marking straight away. My reward was the 10:00 match (France v Australia). I had a workout, had some food in the garden, did some more marking, shaved my head (like you do), had a shower, and now - it's Peru v Denmark.
:)
Same sort of routine tomorrow.
:)
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Managed to organize another game of staff soccer after school today. Absolutely loved it. I played much better than last week and even scored a goal which is rare for me. One of our players is an English teacher who used to be a sports journalist. He said he'd write up our game and send it to all the staff at school on email so if he does it I'll post it on here.
: )

I'm currently watching the Spain Portugal game.
Sorry my American friends, I didn't realize that you're not in this one.
Next match is tomorrow morning.
I'm going to have to watch it in between my exam marking which will give me some ideal breaks.
(Apologies if you don't like soccer. : /)

I watched Old Boy on Netflix last night. The American re-make. I watched the original years ago. Was it Korean? Great film.

Oasis

Jun. 12th, 2018 05:00 pm
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I've been working through these exam scripts but I'm doing it at a sensible rate so it's not been too bad.
I set my myself small goals and then feel good when I achieve them, and I've been loving this sunny weather that we're having at the moment too.
Every opportunity I get, I strip down to just shorts; walk outside into my garden and lye on the grass soaking it all in.
Every opportunity I'm out there - sitting, listening to the birds singing, eating, I'm even enjoying hanging the laundry out. Feels like a little bit of Eden.
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I spent the day marking exams.
So far I've done 150. (The first section).
90 more to do.
Then there's 3 more sections...
...

On a lighter note - has anyone seen 'The Girl From The Song' on Netflix?
I'm still trying to work out whether it's going to become a cult classic or not.
It treads dangerously close to being corny at times and yet just about, and I mean only just, manages to not cross the line...I think.
Can anyone else back me up on this?
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Anyone else watching the Royal Wedding?
I'm not a big fan of the Royal family. I'm not big on inherited title and wealth but I find the media aspect of the event fascinating. Even the cultural influences.
Oprah's there, George Clooney, Idris Elba, ...
Ayup, Harry and Will have just arrived.
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It's been another crazy week at work. I've been getting up at 6 and finishing work at 5 or 6. I think because I've had so much to think about it's been tiring me out and when I've got home I've been sleeping like a dog. (Do dogs really sleep a lot or was just Lennon and McCartney who coined that phrase...?)
I've managed to keep up with my exercise though, and I cycled into on Thursday.
That's been pretty much my life this week.

Fortunately the weekend has been the opposite - lovely weather, good food, wine, chilling. It's been great. Maybe because I've been so stressed during the week, i've appreciated the weekend more than normal.

And breathe...
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I was glad I cycled to work on Thursday. It was pretty chilly in the morning but beautiful coming home. It's amazing the difference properly pumped up tyres make as well.
Now we're back to typical April weather and I don't know when we'll see the sun again.
: /
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Work continues to be stressful but it makes me appreciate the weekends more.

Tomorrow the weather is forecast sunny again so I'm back on the bike. I've fixed it up a bit since last week so it should ride a little easier and I've also bought some better headphones for my mp3 player so the sounds should be better too.
: )

Sadece Sen

Apr. 24th, 2018 10:59 pm
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Just watched 'Sadece Sen' on Netflix.
Tragic, intense, Bulgarian romance at its best.

: )
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Work continues to be stressful. I've been doing 11 hour days. : /

This sunny spell is carrying on too - we've gone from 8C last week to 26C this week. Crazy. Thursday was the hottest day in April in 70 years. I made sure that I made the most of it by cycling to work on Thursday and Friday. Otherwise I wouldn't have seen it. I did 40 miles in 2 days. Not bad considering I haven't cycled that kind of distance for a long time.

The cycle ride home on Friday was beautiful. I found a nature trail about half way back that I've never been down before. I didn't go all the way down the trail because it was taking me further and further in the wrong direction but I'm glad I at least explored it a little.

Then today I went out in the garden to catch the last bit of sun before the downpour we had this afternoon. It's still warm though. Who knows how long it will continue.
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Thanks to everyone's kind words after my last post.
I appreciate it.
X

And today we had the hottest day since August in the UK. It was weird. The sun came out about midday and it suddenly felt like the middle of summer. It's amazing how the sun changes the feel of a place.

Tomorrow is supposed to be more of the same so I've got my bike ready to go. I've just got to make sure that I treat the cycle to work as a summer ride and not a hard slog that ends up at work. I need to look at it as an hour soaking up the sun.

Tomatelo con calma.
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Work has been stressful as I thought it would be. Senior management have given me and my department loads of extra work to do. I'm just trying to take it one step at a time, and trying not get too overwhelmed by it.
At least there's only about 15 weeks left before we break up for the summer. Hopefully I can make it there without getting too beaten down.
: /
I've sent an email out to my colleagues to try and get a game of soccer in Friday after school and Thursday is still forecast sunshine so hopefully I'll be able to cycle to work in it. Sunshine, exercise and taking everything one step at a time...
That's the best I can come up with at the moment.
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Today is my last day of the Easter holiday and the next 6 weeks are going to be stressful because of that negative report that was written about my department.
I've been trying not to think about it.
Today we went to church and I spent most of the rest of the day reading another Prince book. It was fascinating reading through a commentary on what was pretty much the soundtrack to my youth.

One thing I'm looking forward to is getting back on my bike. As soon as we get some more sun, I'm cycling to work. At the moment, that's forecast for Thursday.

Sun

Apr. 14th, 2018 09:31 pm
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So it seems that England is one of the few countries in the world that isn't familiar with bubble tea.
:/
And I now know the Japanese word for the spicy sauce. Turns out Wasabi isn't just the name of the restaurant.
:)

Today was sunny in England. Probably the most beautiful day we've had here for close on 6 months. I spent most of the day in the garden - sawing tree wood, reading, eating, drinking coffee, playing soccer with zac, playing in the swing with zac, just breathing in the spring air. I've missed it so much.
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I took my oldest son to Cambridge university today for an 'open day'. Cambridge is about 2 hours from where we live.
When Josh went in for his lecture, I wandered round the town. I found this record shop (you Americans call it a 'wrecka stoa' I believe; sorry it's the old Prince joke) which claimed to be the "best indie record shop in the UK". It had loads of vinyl records just like record shops had when I was a teenager. I looked up at the clientele expecting to see loads of trendy teenagers but most people were older than me. Lol.
I found the Prince section (from force of habit) and next to the vinyls (which I've got to admit, gave me that magical feeling that I used to get when I was a teenager) I saw the Prince book that was written recently by his first wife, for £3. So I bought it, found a quiet coffee shop and started reading it. Absolutely lovin' it. I'm still a hardcore Prince fan deep down.
When my son came out of the uni, we found a Japanese fast food shop called Wasami. It did sushi but the sauce that came with it was out of this world. Blew my head off. Like really intense chilli sauce but the sensation only lasted about 5 seconds. Wow. What a great restaurant.
We also had bubble tea. One of the strangest drinks I've ever had. Are you familiar with it my Japanese friends?

Prisoners

Apr. 11th, 2018 09:29 am
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If you want a gripping film to watch, try 'Prisoners' on Netflix.
It's about 2 young girls who are kidnapped and the quest to find them.
It's about trust, patience, stress, ethics, ...
Starts fairly slowly but builds up to a point where you can't leave the screen.
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I've been trying not to think about work by exercising like mad, watching Netflix and exploring social media for anything inspiring.
There's a music festival in the UK called Greenbelt that some of you will be familiar with because I mention it every year. It's a Christian festival that is known for quality, quirky art and music. This year Pussy Riot are playing and so is this dude - he's from Birmingham Alabama. Possibly the most energetic act I've seen live and he sings about justice for everyone. Totally on my page:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/Npe6tdJgF9U

Dovedale

Apr. 6th, 2018 04:44 pm
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This is Dovedale.
We've had dull overcast weather all week and dull overcast weather forecast for next week but Thursday was sunny all day so we took a drive north. Just 1 hour and 5 minutes and you can get to this beautiful part of the country - the Peak District.
Normally you can cross the river on those rocks in the photo but the river was too high on Thursday. Zac (my 8 year old) managed to get wet feet within minutes of arriving so we tried going over a hill to avoid getting more muddy and ended up finding ourselves in more and more slippery, steep, wet places until at one point, I wondered if we could get back down. Lol
About half a hour later I slipped down part of the hill and grabbed onto something to avoid hurting myself but what I grabbed was stinging nettles. Lol
Zac was absolutely covered in mud but we got down about an hour later.
I love days like that.
I said to Zac at bedtime - "You could have spent the day glued to a computer game, but instead, we were out in the fresh air, in the sun, getting exercise and falling down hills". : )
I think I just about convinced him that it was good.
: )
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It's another rainy day.
I took a walk into town and it felt cathartic breathing in the early Spring air and feeling the misty rain on my face.
I bought a novel from a charity shop - 'Looking for Alaska' by John Green. Reminds me a bit Douglas Copeland's writing. I've been drinking coffee and reading for most of the day, which is very rare for me.
It's about a guy who goes to live in a boarding school/college and it reminds me of my experience of living at university when I was 19. Interesting time of life. You're an adult but still have a lot to work out. You're open to lots of new influences...
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Holidays are strange times. You go from working on a non-stop treadmill, to having all the time in the world.

Monday was rainy so I tidied up the house. It feels much better. : )

Today I fancied getting out somewhere, so we went on the annual pilgrimage to Ikea. I love the way that shop comes up with new and non-traditional ways to live. We bought some lights and some different coloured drinking glasses. I love blue and green coloured glasses. : )

I also made it out into the garden today. Broke up some wood for next winter. It was awesome being out in sunshine. I've missed it so much.

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