Life Update!
Mar. 20th, 2016 11:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lauren3210lmao, I write a post to say "hey, I'm back!" and then I promptly disappear again, sorry about that! I have been trying to respond to more posts on my friends list though, so I guess I'm making progress, slow as it may be. But I've just finished another epic rewatch of the Lord of the Rings (it's a thing I do every couple of months, because I'm weird like that) and I'm about to start reading a new book, so I thought I'd take some time in between to talk about what I've been up to lately:
WRITING:
I haven't been writing much recently, or at least, I haven't finished anything. My head seems to be teeming with ideas at the moment, some fanfic, some not, and I write like a woman possessed for about 10k, and then I look at it and think, "what the hell am I doing, this is crap," and then I start something else. It's weird, and it's annoying, and I'm wondering if I should in fact have signed up for some fests if this is how I write when I don't, tbh.
PARENTING:
So, as you know, Eryn, my eldest, is getting ready to take her GCSEs in a couple of months, and she's doing really well in every class except History. Now, in this subject, her fairly new teacher downgraded her coursework from a C to an E; told the class the wrong thing to revise for their mocks (the results of which go on college applications); spends most of her time trying to control the class instead of actually teaching anything of substance, and gave my daughter an Attitude to Learning level 1 - the worst mark you can get, and the only one she has ever received, EVER. So, last week I went in to talk to the History dept. about Eryn's work, and after a bit of back and forth about how Eryn should do this and Eryn should do that, I got kind of annoyed, and brought up everything the teacher has done in the past 6 months to knock Eryn's confidence in general. And then we got into a fight:
ME: All I'm saying is, there seems to be a common denominator here, and it's not Eryn.
TEACHER: *scowling* Well, Eryn, what did you say to me in class yesterday?
ERYN: *shrugs* I don't remember.
TEACHER: *yelling* How dare you shrug at me?! That's so rude!
ME: *smacks hand on table* Excuse you very fucking much, that's not rude, that's a social anxiety tic, along with her shaking hands and her inability to make eye contact. And how dare you try to teach her manners when I'm sitting right here? That's MY job, your job is to teach her history, and so far you're sucking at it!
HISTORY DEPT HEAD: Um, okay, so, Eryn you work on your revision, I'm sure you're going to do great!
BOTH TEACHERS: *run out of the room*
Yeah, I scared away two women in their 50s. Apparently though, I am well known in the school for winning arguments - one teacher tried to pull Eryn out of class for wearing nail varnish, and her head of house told the teacher not to because, and I quote "you do not want to tangle with Eryn's mum, believe me. She nearly made me cry once." (I did do that, lolololol)
FAMILY STUFF:
I had a little bit of a panic attack over my parents this weekend. I'd never really thought about it before, because until Joe left for Australia last week (and a guy nearly died in the seat in front of him on the airplane, bless him), he's always lived with them, but when I couldn't get in contact with my mum for two days, I freaked the fuck out, because what if something had happened? I'm 150 miles away, Jo is halfway across the world, how the hell would I even know if they needed help? It was the first instance I had of realising my parents' mortality, and I ended up spending 3 hours on the phone with my mum this afternoon, alternating between sobbing down the line and yelling at her to be more careful (turns out they'd gone on their boat for the weekend and forgot to tell me OR take their mobiles, for fuck's sake).
Also, I've been suffering from sciatica pains (a pinched nerve in my left bum cheek, all the way down to the back of my knee), and the other day I woke up after having slept in a funny position, and I can't move my right shoulder without whimpering. I'm walking around like a hunchback with a limp right now, I look utterly ridiculous! However I did get VERY VERY drunk on Thursday, because it was St Paddy's Day, and it's a rule for us Irish folk. Ben and I went down to our local Irish pub, and Ben wore a pair of my green leggings. I tried to get a picture of his hairy ankles, but I was utterly trolleyed and they all came out completely blurred. And now I'm going to have to buy a new pair, because he completely stretched out the crotch area (which he is ridiculously proud of, because he's a gross boy). One of these days though, I'm going to stop just telling you about the stupid things this man does, and just provide actual documentation!
Anyway, that's what I've been up to lately, and now I'm gonna go read a book. I hope you're all doing wonderful things, my darlings! ♥
WRITING:
I haven't been writing much recently, or at least, I haven't finished anything. My head seems to be teeming with ideas at the moment, some fanfic, some not, and I write like a woman possessed for about 10k, and then I look at it and think, "what the hell am I doing, this is crap," and then I start something else. It's weird, and it's annoying, and I'm wondering if I should in fact have signed up for some fests if this is how I write when I don't, tbh.
PARENTING:
So, as you know, Eryn, my eldest, is getting ready to take her GCSEs in a couple of months, and she's doing really well in every class except History. Now, in this subject, her fairly new teacher downgraded her coursework from a C to an E; told the class the wrong thing to revise for their mocks (the results of which go on college applications); spends most of her time trying to control the class instead of actually teaching anything of substance, and gave my daughter an Attitude to Learning level 1 - the worst mark you can get, and the only one she has ever received, EVER. So, last week I went in to talk to the History dept. about Eryn's work, and after a bit of back and forth about how Eryn should do this and Eryn should do that, I got kind of annoyed, and brought up everything the teacher has done in the past 6 months to knock Eryn's confidence in general. And then we got into a fight:
ME: All I'm saying is, there seems to be a common denominator here, and it's not Eryn.
TEACHER: *scowling* Well, Eryn, what did you say to me in class yesterday?
ERYN: *shrugs* I don't remember.
TEACHER: *yelling* How dare you shrug at me?! That's so rude!
ME: *smacks hand on table* Excuse you very fucking much, that's not rude, that's a social anxiety tic, along with her shaking hands and her inability to make eye contact. And how dare you try to teach her manners when I'm sitting right here? That's MY job, your job is to teach her history, and so far you're sucking at it!
HISTORY DEPT HEAD: Um, okay, so, Eryn you work on your revision, I'm sure you're going to do great!
BOTH TEACHERS: *run out of the room*
Yeah, I scared away two women in their 50s. Apparently though, I am well known in the school for winning arguments - one teacher tried to pull Eryn out of class for wearing nail varnish, and her head of house told the teacher not to because, and I quote "you do not want to tangle with Eryn's mum, believe me. She nearly made me cry once." (I did do that, lolololol)
FAMILY STUFF:
I had a little bit of a panic attack over my parents this weekend. I'd never really thought about it before, because until Joe left for Australia last week (and a guy nearly died in the seat in front of him on the airplane, bless him), he's always lived with them, but when I couldn't get in contact with my mum for two days, I freaked the fuck out, because what if something had happened? I'm 150 miles away, Jo is halfway across the world, how the hell would I even know if they needed help? It was the first instance I had of realising my parents' mortality, and I ended up spending 3 hours on the phone with my mum this afternoon, alternating between sobbing down the line and yelling at her to be more careful (turns out they'd gone on their boat for the weekend and forgot to tell me OR take their mobiles, for fuck's sake).
Also, I've been suffering from sciatica pains (a pinched nerve in my left bum cheek, all the way down to the back of my knee), and the other day I woke up after having slept in a funny position, and I can't move my right shoulder without whimpering. I'm walking around like a hunchback with a limp right now, I look utterly ridiculous! However I did get VERY VERY drunk on Thursday, because it was St Paddy's Day, and it's a rule for us Irish folk. Ben and I went down to our local Irish pub, and Ben wore a pair of my green leggings. I tried to get a picture of his hairy ankles, but I was utterly trolleyed and they all came out completely blurred. And now I'm going to have to buy a new pair, because he completely stretched out the crotch area (which he is ridiculously proud of, because he's a gross boy). One of these days though, I'm going to stop just telling you about the stupid things this man does, and just provide actual documentation!
Anyway, that's what I've been up to lately, and now I'm gonna go read a book. I hope you're all doing wonderful things, my darlings! ♥
(no subject)
Date: 2016-03-21 09:56 am (UTC)- Shelob is called 'Kankra' and just the sound of the 'k's makes you shudder. And as both words derive from old words for archanids (Kanker is actually an old word for harvestman) it's just perfect.
- The Shire got the name 'Auenland' which would mean retranlated 'land of the meadows'. Since I read The Hobbit at the age of 6 and LotR a few years later (way too early) its name has created the most wonderful pictures in my head.
Sorry, but I can get quite excited on the subject. LOL
Haha Do they know that you have two more daughters and will bring generations of teachers to the verge of despair? I think it's gorgeous and your kids are lucky to have you!
Hope you feel better soon, hon!
(no subject)
Date: 2016-03-21 02:53 pm (UTC)And heee, I think it's going to be a bit of a surprise when Madison starts in September, because they have different surnames. I can't wait to see the looks on their faces! ♥
(no subject)
Date: 2016-03-21 01:14 pm (UTC)Sciatica pain is just horrible, it hurts so much, I've had it many times and I hate it. Hope you feel better soon. xx
(no subject)
Date: 2016-03-21 02:57 pm (UTC)And god yes, isn't it the worst? It's one of those pains that makes you almost laugh in surprise at how much it hurts, and it leaves you clutching at your bum cheek in a really embarrassing way! Thank you darling! ♥
(no subject)
Date: 2016-03-21 01:56 pm (UTC)And sorry the pictures were too blurred to share, also! ^^ Sounds like a fun time!
(no subject)
Date: 2016-03-21 03:00 pm (UTC)I am the world's worst photographer really, even if I hadn't been drunk of my ass, they probably wouldn't have come out well. I shall have to give the task to one of my kids, get them to document the next time Ben does something stupid!
Thanks darling! ♥
(no subject)
Date: 2016-03-23 06:30 pm (UTC)"And how dare you try to teach her manners when I'm sitting right here? That's MY job, your job is to teach her history, and so far you're sucking at it!"
^THIS SO MUCH!
That teacher just sounds crazy... and I would have been so pissed too, so I don't blame your reaction!
Sorry you are hurting. I hope it all feels better soon. *hugs you*
Dealing with parent's mortality is really hard. With my mom's health I've dealt with that a lot more than I want to. And just the fact that they have limited time no matter her health... the years are just ticking by and that at some point it's going to happen regardless, that's really hard to come to face with.
And it's not too late to sign up for the harrydracompreg fest if that will help you be more productive ;)
you know, if you just need that push :D :D :D
(no subject)
Date: 2016-03-24 05:02 pm (UTC)Thank you for the kind words! My shoulder is feeling a little better now, although I'm still limping with the pain in my bum cheek, lol!
Yeah, it's weird, and very hard to think about. My parents have been incredibly lucky with their health - I have more issues than they do! - so it was only once my brother finally left that it hit me - they're getting older. It's a harsh lesson that I think always comes unexpectedly.
Heee, I was actually thinking about it, tbh! I may have a look and see if any of the leftover prompts speak to me...
♥