Psapphirical

There is something moderately to severely depressing about arriving home and signing onto WoW to find that all your friends signed off in the last hour or three.  I need more local friends.  So tonight (what's left of it) is a choice of playing Mass Effect or reading "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao".  At least I have Moko Kitteh to keep me company.

Kylie's Facebook status update today was: "got a strange letter today from a Swedish linguist who read about the 'challenges I face' in the Age and wants to help me..."  I wish I got random letters from Swedish linguists.  :-(  You, my flist, know of my great passion for linguists and Swedes.  Put them together and it's like a giant double chocolate coated caramel Tim Tam.  Irresistable.  Mmmm Swedish linguists nom nom nom.

Today's after school meeting was depressing.  All about enrolment numbers and the challenges posed by the economy and how the school needs to send a clear message to the community about achievement and excellence and results and how teachers are the key for achieveing all of this and oh by the way we're bringing in an appraisal system to rate each of you and your performance as teachers because you all don't have enough extra shit in your lives already.  It's truly depressing how commercial and beaurocratic the education sector is becoming.  Anyway, this Saturday is the school Open Day during which Year 7 students (along with their parents and grandparents) are required to attend classes in the morning, and certain teachers have to teach.  All so that the community can see the school in action.  On a Saturday.  It's just a giant advertising campaign and a lot of people resent being forced to give up their free time for it.  Thankfully, I'm not required to attend this year.

In other news, I bought a plane ticket to Munich last Friday. The Iceland Trip is definitely on.  Incidentally, I also received a very nice postcard from Munich at around the same time, which I am going to stick up on my office wall at work along with pictures of Moko Kitteh.