I don’t usually write posts like this, but on this occasion, I would like to complain. About things which are really very and extremely minor, but are still kind of annoying me. I bet you know what I mean! I think everyone has a list. Secretly. :P

1. I have to go back to work on Monday. I like my job, but I don’t like waking up at 6:30. I really should get out of the habit of staying up until 2 or 3am NOW, so I have the weekend to sort out my crazy sleeping pattern!

2. My site has 105 errors, and I can’t work out how to fix any of them, some don’t even seem to make sense! *FAIL*

3. My camera’s batteries are dead, so no Project 365 uploading for me until I get some new ones.

4. I’m 75% sure I want to dress up as Belle for a B-themed 21st I’m going to next weekend, but the costume at the costume hire isn’t very Belle-like. It is yellow, and long and pretty, but it’s not frilly and flowery like Belle’s, and it has this weird bustle on the back of it with white flowers attached to it. The owners say that temporary alterations are allowed, as long as they’re removed again before you return the costume, so I do have the option of going to a craft shop and buying some pretty yellow ribbon and some tiny safety pins and decorating it myself, but I just don’t know if it’s worth it, it might end up looking even sillier.

Yup. In case you couldn’t tell, the last one isn’t so much an annoyance as a train of thought. Any other ideas for cool B-themed things I could go as? I did think of going as a bunny rabbit, but I tried on a rabbit costume yesterday and within about two minutes I was BOILING HOT, so that might not be the best choice for this time of year! LOL!

Ok. Complaining over. The next post will mark the return of my usual cheerfulness. :)

Late last night I came across this article online, about a basketball game between two girls’ schools in Texas…

Dallas School Apologizes for Basketball Game Blowout

A Dallas school whose girl’s basketball team beat another team 100-0 has apologized, calling its win "shameful" and "a victory without honor." The Covenant School of Dallas also asked to forfeit the game against The Dallas Academy, a school that specializes in teaching children with learning problems.

In an article in the Dallas Morning News Thursday, the Dallas Academy’s Athletic Director, Jeremy Civello, said The Covenant team kept its first-string players in the game almost until the end, and didn’t let up until the 100th point in the fourth quarter. In a statement on its Web page, the board chair and head of The Covenant School said they formally apologized to the other school Thursday morning. "It is shameful and an embarrassment that this happened," the statement said. "We humbly apologize."

The Covenant School also said, "A victory without honor is a great loss." Jim Richardson, headmaster at the Dallas Academy, said he accepts the apology and that the two schools remain friends.

The game was played Jan. 13.

Should the Covenant School have apologised and forfeited the game? Was what they did wrong/greedy? Or did they just "play to win" as they’d no doubt been taught to do in every other game they played?

Personally I’m in two minds about this. On one hand I can see why the headmaster later thought this was a bad idea, and "unfair" to keep competing so aggressively against a team that clearly stood no chance of winning, especially since by half time they were already losing by 59-0.

But, I can also see why some people disagree with what they’ve done, saying that to make the team and administration feel guilty for playing well and winning is disgraceful. What would they prefer the winning team to have done? Played worse than they are capable of, and "let" Dallas Academy score points? How would the Dallas players have felt then? That they were so bad the other team took pity on them? Yeah. Maybe not so great!

I think it really comes down to wondering who on earth arranged the game to begin with. I don’t know much about sports, but isn’t there some kind of grading system to ensure that games aren’t hideously unbalanced (and effectively pointless) like this one obviously was? It would have made sense for both teams to play against teams of similar ability level, that way, Covenant School would have been able to play a really competitive game, and Dallas Academy wouldn’t have been doomed before they started.

Anyway, what do you think?

I have just realised how much of my life involves kids. Aside from work (which starts back in a week and a half) and Oliver (which has kids in the cast), tonight I had my first training/orientation meeting to become a Pippin leader through GirlGuides NZ.

I dug myself this hole got into this through Brooke, who is a Brownie leader, and coz I just thought it sounded like a cool thing to be involved in, and look good on my CV too. I wanted Pippins instead of Brownies or Guides because 5 and 6 year olds are awesome, they’re so entertaining. :P

Because Pippins runs according to the school terms, I don’t start for a couple of weeks, but between now and then I have a huge clearfile full of reading to do!

Yep. Kids are taking over my life, and the odd thing is…I chose to do all of these things, not realising they’d compound and give me KidOverload! :P *ponders why I am not studying primary education*