I'm Back!

Wow! OK, its been quite awhile since my last post.  The reason for this is I was... ummm... I mean to say that... uh... Alright, I don't have a good reason!  But that's all water under the bridge now cause I've settled back into a routine and will be making a weekly post every Sunday. Now that that's out of the way, let's see what I've been up to this past month.

I'm sure you've all heard about the terrible winter we've been having over here - the worst winter in 30 years (while Canada has had the mildest... grr..).  Fortunately, its now quite mild (early Spring weather) but it was a miserable time while it lasted.  I was quite lucky that my agencies were able to find me work each day as thousands of schools across London were being closed.  Even then, traffic was horrible - many days the trains were delayed, canceled or running an alternative timetable.  The roads were gridlocked as well.  One interesting fact:  in some areas, residents were encouraged NOT to clear the sidewalks outside their houses.  Apparently, if they did clear it and someone still slipped, they may be liable for that person's injury.

But as with all things, there were some really good memories too of beautiful scenery and children playing.  My favorite was one Friday when the VP stopped classes at 2:30 and sent all the staff and students onto the playground for a school-wide snowball fight.  It was awesome!  If you're interested, click here for news coverage. 

My other piece of exciting news is that I've accepted a Guaranteed Work Agreement with Protocol Education!  The agency is guaranteeing me 5 days of supply work / week (otherwise I get paid to stay home) until the end of March.  They told me that they've gotten excellent feedback from the schools I've been to (the schools have been asking for me by name) and they want me to work exclusively through them for their busy season.  It's always nice to hear that you're doing a good job and its a big relief to know I'll have a steady income for the next 2 months or so.  Its just like having a full-time position, but with no planning or assessment! :)

Now with my finances stabalized, I'm going to have to start thinking about things like where to travel and what things I'd like (not need) for the house (desk, bookshelf, printer/scanner, etc).  I have a half term break coming up on February 15th - thinking of doing a few tours/day trips to places like Bath and Stonehenge.  Then again, Paris isn't that far either....  I'll just have to see what kind of packages are available as I'd like to go with a group.