Ups and Downs

Well, I may have to stay a bit longer than I would really like. It seems that, in order to actually make use of the money I've been putting into a pension fund for nearly two years, I actually have to COMPLETE two years of service in the county, which would put me about a week AFTER the Easter holidays are done with. 'Course, school systems kinda want you to put in half term periods, so I might be stuck for an extra one. Ugh!  

On the upside though, the year 7s have calmed down quite a bit since the ugliness of the previous couple of weeks. I'm actually ENJOYING the year 7 group that was causing me the most despair a week ago. I might actually be able to last out that extra term and, since the last half-term may prove easier depending on the timetable, I might just finish off the year. 'Course, that'll depend entirely on how long things remain calm...  

In other bits, I now have the joy of having to call my landlord and informing him that there's a leak under the tub. I've identified the problem; the pipe connection has loosened and will need new sealant. I've tightened up the connection to slow the leaking, but I'll likely have to surrender another Saturday for the visit of a plumber to reseal the the thing. Sure I could do it myself, but there'd be no guarantee that I'd get done right and, frankly, why go through the hassle when getting a plumber would be on the landlord's dime?  

Health wise, things seem to be slowly improving. I've managed to stop the weight gain and have regained some of my former stamina. On Saturday, I did a good 45 minute session of yoga and, on Sunday, I covered 5.6 miles. For my longer distances, I've opted to alternate between 10 minutes of running and 2 minutes of walking. It makes for a bit of a slower time, but my knee gives me far less aggro about it. I should probably do the same for shorter distances, but that's not a worry until I actually start doing them again during the week. Yep, motivating myself during weekdays is still a problem for me. Ah well, at least I can complete a 10k race again, if I needed to, albeit with even less grace than I did the first time.

Living English

Well, after living two years in this particular region of southern England, I finally discovered a few critical rules to simulating the local accent. It hit my like a bolt from the heavens when a child called out to his parents "Can I go on d' compu-ah?" I'm certain he intended "Can I go on the computer?", but the locals here (and I'm amazed I only just really put the pieces together) are lazy about TH sounds (changing them to D or F sounds), exceptionally lazy about T sounds (to the point of completing omitting them), and modifying RR sounds to AH. Before I leave this country, I might actually be able to fake a genuine English accent that isn't some parody of posh a la Monty Python. Yay me! *chuckle*  

Another fact of existence in England was brought to the forefront of my awareness this weekend. As I went about to the shops and did my running in a T-shirt and shorts in the middle of January, it was again affirmed: English winters are PUSSY!!! (What can I say? Any opportunity to proudly display my Canadianity... )