Aloha Spirit

It's true - Hawaii leaves you with a very relaxed spirit, and a sense of what is really important. Family and friends - check. Rewarding work - check. Balance of work and play - check. I was very lucky to have the Hawaiian sojourn close to end of term, in fact, I was back for five days then went to camp with 60 Year 6's for three days, then it was end-of-term, two weeks R&R. The camp was very rewarding this year, and the stunning surroundings of Broken Bay in beautiful Autumn weather certainly helped to make it enjoyable for teachers and students.

The best part of Hawaii? Hard to choose between the pristine water at Waikiki beach, the scenery, the sunsets, the Mai-tais, Duke's breakfast, terrific restaurants and shopping, walks around Diamond Head, great coffee, historic buildings, fresh pineapple stands - but the drives we took to the North shore beaches and the steamed shrimp at the food vans were very hard to beat.

It works..

Working smarter, not harder, actually works. Having weekends "off" also makes for a more creative, energetic worker Mon - Fri. Something I should have worked out a long time ago, but teaching is a job with no end: what you HAVE to do, what you'd LIKE to do, what you SHOULD and COULD do, plus keeping all the stakeholders happy and meeting their expectations. So with a stop at one of the local cafes on the way to work to scan the news on I=Pad, I arrive full of beans (literally) around 8am and don't stop till after 4pm. Only 8 hours, I know, but try doing your workday surrounded by 30 children who all need YOU and it is exhausting. Lunch times are for duties and marking and preparing the next session. I'm not complaining though - there are so many WOW moments.

Hawaii in 7 sleeps should stop any complaining!

March on...

March - beautiful autumn weather today, a picnic lunch planned by the river. Well, when I say 'picnic' I actually mean fish 'n chips, but I do take the picnic basket for effect.

Unusually, there is a holiday approaching during term time, seven days in Hawaii with my family all flying in on different airlines, me from Sydney and the rest from New York. Hawaii wasn't high on my wishlist of places to go (Morocco, Paris again, Florence, Croatia, Spain, South America, Cuba, Galapagos....) but the opportunity arose and I'm looking forward to the whole experience. When the kids asked me to go, it was the end of last winter and I was recovering from a nasty flu, so it was no contest. Sit under a palm tree opposite the beach with a Mohito? OK!

Long Live the Blog

My friend's 15 year old son told her 'nobody blogs' - which worried her because she is doing the Librarian Masters degree and she needs to create a blog in her first assignment. So I reassured her that lots of people blog - blogging just has a different role since the avalanche of Facebook, Twitter et al. Personally, although Facebook is great for the quick comment and picture, I love reading blogs for their more thoughtful, considered approach. I guess that is why they have evolved as subject-specific blogs (style, food, technology etc) and why less people are blogging just to keep up with family news and showcase pictures (hello, Instagram). Hopefully, Facebook will slow in its importance in a lot of 20 something's lives - they have a special 'Facebook smile' for their pictures, they dress for being tagged in pictures rather than just the occasion, and heaven forbid if an unflattering picture gets out there. So much pressure!! I have a class blog, each student has a blog to present their homework on, and the librarian is starting a library blog to house book reviews, interviews with teachers about their favourite book and artwork by the students. Get with the program, 15 year old!

Eliza and I went to Forster (lower north coast of NSW) in pouring, no, cyclonic rain last weekend, and we had a ball. We walked to dinner under umbrellas during a lull in the weather; as we called for the bill the weather came back with a vengeance, so we did the only thing possible under the conditions: called for the cocktail menu. We eventually made it back to the hotel in one piece. The next day was grey but dry, so we were able to enjoy a platter Eliza had somehow won outside for lunch. Forster is home to some delightful shops and cafes so we gave them some patronage too. Sadly, further north people were flooded again - climate change is giving our coast a battering.

February...

New year, new routines - nothing like mixing things up to enjoy life to the utmost. No more padding out onto the wet front lawn to pick up the morning paper and prise the plastic wrap off - I just load SMH.com to my NEW!! I-Pad (I'm a late uptaker, but that means I get the newest technology when I finally succumb).

To enjoy that, I'm rising a little earlier and popping into a cafe on the way TO work - it gets me to work before time and fired up to go, go, go. (Healthy breakfast at home first, of course)....

After work it's gym circuit training three times, and a river walk on the other two days. I've so far stuck to my new school year resolution to do more AT school, and do no schoolwork on weekends. It's meant being creative with finding time, but an hour after school with the radio on and half of lunchtime occasionally has helped. I also take marking to meetings for the inevitable downtime.

Weekends are now fun again, movies, lunches, brunches, shopping, couch time - and I feel fresh on Monday. Empty that cup!

An Empty Cup

My son, Paull, referred me to a blog post about the 'empty cup' strategy. I've certainly been working on that for the last five weeks....I sat down to do some preparation for school today and it all came together easily. I'll see if that continues in the hurly-burly of 30 gifted students, staff meetings, assessment tasks, reinventing the wheel and double handling that happens in the first few weeks.
Meanwhile, Helen and Alan treated me to a wonderful Noosaville break with perfect weather, beautiful food, cycling (and some lovely wine....)

Home and Away

The pessimist says "only 12 days left of my holidays". The optimist says "I've got 12 and a half days holidays coming up, Yay!" I'm making the most of every day, meeting good friends for lunch today at Greenacre's Al Aseel restaurant for some delicious, authentic Lebanese food; catching more movies (Hitchcock first) and catching up with more friends - then on Monday to Wednesday going to visit Helen & Alan in beautiful Noosaville, Queensland. It will be lovely to see them and their new (ish) home, and to bicycle into Noosa to check out the cafes and the beach. I'm determined to take the relaxed vibe with me into Term 1, so that means some preparation at home later next week, and a determination to work smarter, not harder. One tip I read was to SMILE - at the people you pass, at your desk, at your computer - apparently it puts you in a positive mind set all day...we'll see....:)