My favourite Project 365 photo in awhile. I never really noticed these flowers before, until I was sitting right next to them wondering what today’s photo should be of!

Monday
I wake up at 6:30am to catch the bus by 7:22am. I have class from 9am until around 3pm. My classes today are Maths and P.E. Sometimes I go to to a pub quiz at 7pm with a friend and her family. Our team never really does very well since we’re all women and don’t know much about sport, but it’s fun anyway. My theatre company’s committee also meets once a month on Monday nights.

Tuesday
I wake up at 6:30am to catch the bus by 7:22am. I have class from 9am until around 3pm. My classes today are Literacy Education and ICT. After class I usually go straight home or to the library to finish readings.

Wednesday
I wake up at 6:30am to catch the bus by 7:22am. I have class from 9am until around 3pm. My classes today are Social Sciences and Science. After class I go to tutoring at 4:30 to teach ESOL to two little Korean girls.

Thursday
I wake up at 6:30am to catch the bus by 7:22am. This is my “lazy day” since I only have Social Sciences in the morning!

Friday
I wake up at 6:30am to catch the bus by 7:22am. I have P.I. (Professional Inquiry) all day today, which gets rather full on after awhile! After we finish at 3ish my class seems to have started a tradition of “Future Teacher’s Happy Hour” at the bar on campus. I’m not sure how long this will last once the assignments start piling up, but it was fun this week.

Saturday
Today is my Drama Day. I teach and/or rehearse from 1:30 until around 3ish then stay behind at the studio to discuss stuff with other tutors or to work on things that need working on.

Sunday
This is pretty much my nothing day…or my day to do assignments and uni readings!

In about two weeks my 101 in 1001 will be over. I’m glad I did this, but I’m nowhere near even close to having completed my 101 things!

I want to make another list though, starting it the day after the first round finishes, and have some more realistic, reasonable things on it, as well as re-listing some of the things that are on my first list and which I’d still like to do!

I need some ideas though! Help! What are some interesting, challenging (but not impossible!) things I should add to my 101 things to do in 1001 days!?

No, I have not just closed my eyes and banged on the keyboard. This is in fact a word. A word my social sciences class learned to spell this morning, while we were studying Maori language!

For those of you who I KNOW are curious, it is the name of a hill in the North Island of NZ, and apparently translates to something along the lines of “The summit where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, the climber of mountains, the land-swallower who travelled about, played his nose flute to his loved one.”

Is this not the oddest thing you have ever seen!? Just so you know it’s genuine and not a spoof, here is a picture of Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu! Sadly, it is not as spectacular looking as its name led me to hope!

What is the coolest place name you have ever heard?

• My mum
• My mum’s younger sister S.
• My mum’s younger sister M.
• My dad’s younger sister H.
• H.’s husband B.
• My dad’s sister’s partner E.

My mum also has several good friends who she met at TColl when she was 17! E. J., and J. were/are all teachers too! I’ve known these ladies all my life and I was probably ten or eleven years old before I realised that just because I’d grown up referring to them as “Auntie”, they were not actually actually my aunts!

I suppose there’s one advantage of knowing all these teachers! I’ll never be short of someone to turn to for advice! Ha! Thankfully none of them ever taught ME; that would have been a little bit strange, although I do remember mum coming to work at my primary school as a relief (substitute) teacher on the odd occasion when I was very young.

EDIT: My new Twitter name is @ExcitingHolly. I know it’s not showing on the sidebar yet, but I’ll put it up again soon. I think I’ve “re-followed” everyone I had on my list, but please add me if I’ve forgotten you!

1. I have to use all the kids in the class.
Unlike an open audition situation, I can’t turn anybody down. They’re all paying to participate in this class and all need to have an opportunity to perform in the show, since that’s, you know, the whole POINT of being here!

2. I can only use them all once.
Although the script says it would work, doubling them up isn’t really possible, since they’re all pretty decent sized parts and having kids rushing around trying to change their costumes mid-show would add another whole layer of confusing.

3. There’s only one perfectly right way to do this.
Ok – so maybe this one isn’t quite true, I’m sure there’s more than one child who could play some of the parts, but there’s certainly a BEST way…I just haven’t found it yet!

Yep. Kids theatre. Exactly like a Sudoku puzzle! Hopefully once the other adults involved have a think about who would fit into which role, we might be able to make some decisions!

It transpires that I have apparently been participating in abuse. Yup. That’s ALL it says! I am completely confused. I replied to the support ticket saying that I believe I have been hacked¹, and asking whether they can provide me with examples of my “abusive” use of Twitter…

Unfortunately I have heard from other people that suspended accounts often do not get restored, which makes me a very sad panda, since I was rather attached to it, and to all my lovely followers!

So. It looks like I might have to make another one and start again. Am currently trying to think of a suitable username. AdventuresOfHolly is too long, sadly.

Any ideas?

1. Without my knowledge? Surely not – but it’s the only conclusion I can think of!

It was a pretty long day. I arrived there at 8:30am and didn’t leave until about 3pm, but we had quite a few breaks in between all the info sessions so it wasn’t too boring. I found out that both of the other women in my interview group were accepted! One of them is doing the same degree as me and in the same stream (class), so we spend most of our breaks sitting around talking. She is a maths/science brained-person, so I suspect she might be a rather useful friend for my creative-minded self to have, since we can help each other! I didn’t see the second one, since she’s doing a 3 year Bachelors degree as opposed to a 15 month graduate diploma, but the other woman did, and said that she seemed really excited to get started.

I also came across a good friend of mine from primary school, who is also doing the same qualification! Thanks to Facebook I knew she’d be there, but I hadn’t seen her for years and years!

I’m going back tomorrow for another info day, and then on Wednesday we go for our first school visit!

A couple of years ago our high school principal retired, and this same group of friends and I went to visit her and take her some flowers. After we did that we bumped into the teacher who has now retired, and she said “I hope you bring me flowers when I retire!” I joking replied that we’d give her a cactus! I wasn’t really serious, and forgot about it right after I’d said it.

Until last week. When I got the email back from the first teacher, I forwarded it to Brooke and Jenny, who’d also been in my class. When Brooke read the email, she remembered my cactus comment, and immediately suggested Friday afternoon was the appropriate time for us to uphold our promise and go and give her a cactus! Yes. We are weird.

One problem, however. Retired Teacher had already left the school. We had no idea how to get hold of her. This might have put some people off. But not us. We are far too awesome. We hatched a plan. We decided to go and visit the first teacher – the one I emailed, and see if she would help us with Operation Cactus. She knows we’re silly so we liked our chances.

She was rather surprised to see us, and when we explained our idea to her and showed her the cactus (which was tiny, cute, non-spiky and about to flower) and the card (which said “Have a nice middle age” on it.) she thought it was hilarious, checked that the address we had found (on the online White Pages) was correct, and told us to go and visit her! Excellent. Part One of our mission accomplished.

So we drove to Retired Teacher’s house. She was mowing her lawn and was rather astounded to see us suddenly standing in the middle of her garden! We’ve not sure whether she remembered the original conversation about the cactus or not, but she still thought it was funny!

As for the title of this saga, we named the cactus “Mr. Rochester the Retirement Cactus”, because Jane Eyre was one of the books we studied in her class in 2003! HAH!

Sadly I don’t have any photos of this! I wish I did!

THE ESPRESSO DRINKER

James and Moore describe the espresso as “the unfiltered cigarette of the coffee drinking world”. Espresso drinkers tend to be moody, hard-bitten and hard working. They are into leadership and fast goals. They don’t suffer fools but are hard living and prone to “night-time shenanigans, followed by a rather louche attempt at day time repair”. The espresso drinker can be an experienced, exciting and consummate lover but is not known for reliability or unswerving loyalty.

THE BLACK COFFEE DRINKER

This type is all about minimalism and takes a no-frills, direct approach to life. The black coffee drinker can be quiet and moody but prone to brief bursts of extroversion. “A difficult but potentially rewarding friend, colleague or partner,” James and Moore conclude.

THE LATTE DRINKER

Typically metrosexuals or cuddly-toy collectors, latte drinkers are pleasers with an overwhelming compulsion to be liked. A latte drinking boss will use a baby voice to tell you off.
By taking a dark and dangerous drink and turning it into a comforting milky bedtime beverage, James and Moore say, latte drinkers reveal that while they may want to come across as hot shot contenders, they have an immature side.

THE CAPPUCCINO DRINKER

What’s not to like about the extroverted, optimistic cappuccino drinker? Like their drink, cappuccino drinkers are all froth and bubble, bored by detail and liking – but not obsessed with – material objects. “Freud would have a field day here,” write James and Moore. “Cappuccino froth gives the tongue the mother of all workouts and is all to do with the physicality of the experience rather than the basic consumption of the beverage.” The cappuccino drinker enjoys sex but is easily bored by an unimaginative partner.

THE INSTANT COFFEE DRINKER

These are cheerful, straight forward types, who like a laugh and live by the maxim “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. But instant coffee drinkers can be unadventurous in their careers and need to let others see the hidden depths in their personality. The no-nonsense instant coffee drinker is allergic to pretentious behaviour, say James and Moore, and they are likely to keep their socks on during sex.

THE DECAF SOY MILK DRINKER

A self-righteous eco-worrier and attention seeker with a tendency to be picky, fussy – and squeamish in the bedroom. What’s more, this faux choice implies a pretentious, high-maintenance type who wants what they can’t have and is disguising their true personality. “If caffeine gives palpitations and cow’s milk brings you out in spots there’s little hope for you in the cockroach society that is city dwelling”, James and Moore conclude.

THE FRAPPUCINO DRINKER

Flighty and shallow, the frappucino drinker will try anything once – especially if a celebrity has done it first. They fancy themselves trend setters but send out the message that they are someone who favours style over substance. The frappucino drinker’s relationships often last as long as their drink choice, according to James and Moore.

THE NON-COFFEE DRINKER

Unfortunately, the verdict isn’t good. Frightened of coffee equals frightened of life, say James and Moore. If the taste of coffee puts you off you really are a child, they say, and it’s time to join the world of grown ups. But there’s hope. “Twenty one days is all it will take to break your cycle of disgust and then you’ll be back in the real world.”

Source

Which one are you? Do you think it’s an accurate description?