I don't have to.....

It's the day before the annual Bundaberg music eisteddfod. For the last ten years I have spent the day running about like a nitwit, organising things, getting keys to venues, writing lists, checking rosters, buying paper clips and pens, preparing information for adjudicators, reading the program a zillion times, making a list of what I am going to wear every day for the next week and so on and so forth. This year I am not doing any of those things because I am no longer the coordinator for this event. I have no responsibilities except for preparing my few students, turning up and accompanying a couple of competitors. You know what? It's delightful! I'm actually looking forward to going to the Eisteddfod tomorrow and being able to leave when I'm finished without waiting for the session to finish. I don't have to liaise with adjudicators about their responsibilities. I don't have to decide when the morning or afternoon tea break will be. I don't have to arrive at the spooky dark theatre to open up for the evening session. I don't have to get home and worry that I left some of the millions of lights on in the aforementioned theatre or that I didn't put the alarm on as I left. I don't have to deal with parents of competitors who have a many a question, want to change something in the program, want to give me advice about what we should have done here, there or everywhere. I don't have spend two days ushering choirs on and off the stage and Civic Centre or setting up 50 stands and chairs for concert bands or orchestras according to the exacting requirements of the group's teacher. In fact, I don't have to do very much at all. This is just as well because I actually have no idea how I would manage to fit all that in around my job and my study this year. Don't get me wrong! It's a great event but I decided I had done my bit and I wanted to be able to focus on other things. Other people are now taking a turn. That's the way it should be I believe.

Yo Yo Ma.......

It's ages since I posted any music to The Spiralling Shape but I've been inspired by a couple of things over the last few days. They both involve Yo Yo Ma - amazing cellist. Firstly, on Sunday night, I joined my parents for a viewing of an episode of the West Wing. They're on a reviewing marathon and currently in the second series where Josh Lyman is recovering from his gunshot. Yo Yo Ma features playing at a Christmas event which triggers Josh's post traumatic stress. He plays the beautiful Bach cello suite (Yo Yo Ma that is, not Josh Lyman). Then this evening while rehearsing with a cello student for the eisteddfod I asked if she had listened to any recordings of the Piazolla tango we are playing. Sure, the Yo Yo Ma version on youtube. Here it is: and here is the Bach G major... by way of a little contrast...

a new grey zip up cardigan thing

I have just arisen from the lounge after a three hour (give or take) nap. I was very tired and it was a lovely nap as well - the kind where you go to sleep properly and sometimes get confused when you open your eyes as to the day and time. This is the kind of Saturday I haven't had for ages. My Mum and I went for coffee this morning first up. I hadn't eaten breakfast so I had a cheese and tomato toasted sandwich. It was simple but yummy. I even had it made on White Bread. Yes! I know...very bad indeed. Then I came home and had a short rehearsal with a cello student who is playing a lovely Piazolla tango in the Eisteddfod in a few weeks. We both need some more practice so she is coming back on Tuesday evening. Then my Mum and I went shopping. I have been curbing my shopping habits this year much to the delight of my bank balance. But I let fly this morning and came home with three pairs of jeans, four tops and the kind of comfy grey zip up cardigan thing that is perfect for weekends and after work during what passes for winter here in Bundaberg. It will replace my previous grey zip up cardigan thing which is now years old and sometimes fails to zip. It might be time for a wardrobe clean out very soon I think. Then I had the nap. And now I am drinking a beautiful cup of lady grey tea. Somehow I have managed to run out of coffee. Aaack! I mean, I know I only drink decaf so it doesn't really count but I just don't understand how I could have let that happen. Once again, it's a domestic goddess fail from me.

Easter to dos

For some people, some very good and organised people, Easter is spending time with family, going camping, relaxing, eating lots chocolate etc etc you get the picture. For me this year, it's four days that I have been holding out for in the hope of getting a heap of things done that haven't fitted into the run of the mill two day weekend. Here is my list.
1. Finish assignment for Collections Management - due Friday - done
2. Start assignment for Management Issues - not done
3. Edit paper on Chris Lilley and change referencing from intext to endnotes - not done
4. Prepare Moodle video resources for Weeks 7, 8 ad 9 - not done
5. Finish performance review docs - not done
6. Dust the house - not done
7. Do all the washing, and then put all the washing away - not done
8. Vacuum and/or sweep the floors REALLY thoroughly - not done
9. Tidy up mountain of shoes in wardrobe - not done
10. Buy sister's birthday present for tomorrow - done
11. Nap - done some, more planned
12. Read - done some, more planned
13. Watch TV - done some, more planned
14. Eat chocolate - not done yet, planned

this is my life at the moment

I think it's time I stopped starting every blog post with an apology for my lack of regular posting. That's just how things are at the moment.

 Work is busy, full of restructure-induced change, angst, sadness at loss of quality staff, intermittent fury at what appears to be a lack of interest from senior management in assisting our unit into our "brave new world", beautiful students who bring great joy and enthusiasm into the classroom, and some amazing colleagues who inspire me on a daily basis. So you know, swings and roundabouts. I'm not going to write about it anymore here because (1) you wouldn't believe half the things I said because they are so ridiculous and (2) it just makes the stressing worse. It's time to accentuate the positive. (You can thank me later for the ear worm).

 I was devastated by the conclusion of Homeland last Sunday night. Claire Danes is simply amazing and I can't wait for Season 2. If you didn't watch it you missed out on one of the few quality dramas to come out of the US in the past little while. Yes I know, that's a big call, but it's my blog and I'll say what I like. Once again I was destroyed by the ending of the Donna Noble story on Doctor Who. I've continued to watch the repeats now that Matt Smith is in the Tardis but I'm really sorry everyone. I just prefer David Tennant and that's all there is to it.

 On the reading front, I finally finished Claire Tomalin's biography of Dickens. I thought it appropriate that I read something about Dickens given his birthday year and all. How would I sum him up? Contradictory. One word. That's all you need. Now I am reading 31 Songs by Nick Hornby. I'm only up to song 13 or 14 but it's really making me think about making my own list of songs that express my life, my values, my belief, how I see myself in the world. Music eh? Pretty amazing stuff.

 My piano students continue to visit me each week. These are hours of delight as I attempt to guide them to develop their skills, to think about music as a form of communication and expression, to build their confidence, to encourage them to enjoy playing the piano. If they go away happy, and are happy to return the following week then the basics of my job are done. Anything after that - exam results, eisteddfod performances, - are simply bonuses.

 And I'm studying. Studying. Writing assignments. Writing reports. Learning about libraries and information science. There is more about this on my other blog. I wish I had more time to devote to it. That would mean not working which is not really an option. Not if I want to eat, have clothes, and maintain a shelter. So, I work in bursts and plan ahead. This is my life at the moment. It's going to be a big year.

Wednesday questions

What's this Wendy? Two blog posts in one week? Surely that has happened since around 2010? I seem to have a moment of peace and solitude for the first time in weeks. I know I am at work so it is probably a little bit naughty that I am blogging. Call it community engagement. That seems to be the buzzword of the moment. Just exactly what it means no one is quite sure but for now let's call it blogging. I feel like I have had no time for coherent thoughts lately other than the ones I have had to have for either work or study. I remember those long lost days when I used to write every morning about television. I'm really starting to wonder if I've grown past that. Don't get me wrong. I still love television. And I am very happy to read good academic work by wonderful people writing about it. It's just that I have a minimal amount of motivation to do it myself. And by minimal I probably really mean "no motivation at all". I don't know where it went. I'm not sure why it disappeared. It's just that when it comes tv studies at the moment my brain feels dulled. It all seems very obvious. Why would I bother saying something in 5000 highly referenced words when I could just send a tweet about how awesome Homeland is? Or why the writers of Doctor Who with David Tennant have him bemoaning the lack of an override switch/button/lever/system in nearly every episode? Or why I have suddenly pretty much lost interest in Bones? Or why I continue to enjoy the Big Bang Theory even though it portrays a character who in real life would sit somewhere on the autism/asperger's disorder as the butt of many jokes? Or why I am able to still enjoy Graham Norton on Channel Ten even though I had grave reservations about the shift from the ABC? Or why I can't stand Jonathan Ross? Or why I can't be bothered watching those Phryne Fisher murders even though everyone says they're fabulous? Or why I have never watched an episode of My Kitchen Rules and actually believe cooking shows to be quite boring? Did twitter ruin my blogging mojo? Maybe. It doesn't really worry me except for the fact that I have become a little concerned that I am incapable of writing anything longer than 140 characters. I think that's a small part of the attraction of returning to study. It forces me to write and think and think and write. These are things that I like doing. Perhaps, now I'm just doing them in more places than this blog. I guess it's good to diversity.

nothing very interesting really

Nothing much of great consequence has been happening. Work is still slightly over the top although things are slowly settling down. It has been great to start actually teaching. I have a lovely bunch of students on campus and some great ones studying by distance as well. The week seemed to go by in a flash. I am definitely back into a routine. Monday work and choir. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday work and piano teaching. Friday work and collapsing in front of the telly. Saturday and Sunday a mixture of work, study and shopping. Then - whaddya know - it's Monday all over again. I am attempting to be more organised this year. I am diligently using my diary and writing daily to-do lists. I am also attempting to keep my desks under control - both at home and at work. So far so good. My biggest achievement is with my email inbox at work. Usually, it stretches on for miles but this year I set up a workable system of folders and every day I spend a few minutes filing the completed emails away so all that is left in front of me are the flagged ones that still need my attention. It's so much easier and lessens the usual looming magnitude of the email considerably. The other thing that I have managed to change is my diet. Less carbs by probably more than half (which breaks my heart as I love bread and pasta) and lots more fruit and veges. I make a salad nearly every day for work. Next step is to start doing some exercise but I am going to wait for the weather to cool down a bit. I am not fond of exercise and I have no idea where I am going to fit it in but it needs to be done. Gradually, I am getting my life in order. After last year it just had to be done.

Let's go fly a kite

A couple of weekends ago I made the trek to Brisbane to see Mary Poppins. Not in person obviously. She's a fictional character. Rather, this was the musical. Much lauded. Much praised. I had been told by many people that I would "love" it. So I was looking forward to seeing it but I was also a little hesitant. You know when Margaret and David give a movie five stars and then you and see it and think "meh...3 and a half from me actually". What I'm saying is that when someone tells me I'm going to love something I always start to worry. WHAT IF I DON'T LOVE IT AS MUCH AS I'M SUPPOSED TO? WHAT ABOUT THAT? So, what did I think about the Poppinses? Well, spectacular chorus numbers. Excellent and impressive special effects. The set was wonderful. The leads were good. I was particularly impressed that the guy from So You think You Can Dance who played Bert actually could dance...Really Well! I even got a lump in my throat when Mary Poppins "flew" out across the audience at the end. Shush...that's not a spoiler...we all know she leaves. So it was very good. But there were things that weren't quite right. For one, the balance between the orchestra and the singers was a little out. Brass...I'm sorry...you were too loud. And the girl playing Jane got a bit shrieky at times in her microphone. And I just didn't love Simon Burke as Mr Banks. Perhaps it was the part? I'm not sure. And I didn't love the "new" songs. As a child my parents had a limited record collection. One of the LPs (showing my age here) was the original cast recording from the Disney movie with Julie Andrews and Dick van Dyke. Now I know his accent still remains unforgivable as the cockney Bert but I loved the suffragette songs of Mrs Banks. Why was she suddenly made into a wannabe actress in the stage version? Are we not able to cope with a little bit of lightweight feminism in a musical? I found this a strange choice. Also, the letter that Jane and Michael sing before Mary Poppins arrive was way too fast. I like it slower and more thoughtful as in the film. Now, I understand that translating a film to the stage means there will be differences, certain things are not possible (dancing animated penguins for instance) but for the life of me the thing that bugged me the most was that they didn't finish with Let's Go Fly a Kite. It's my favourite moment in the film. It's the perfect ending as the family go out into the street and everyone lives happily ever after even without Mary Poppins. Why chuck it in the middle in some half-hearted fashion? It just wasn't quite right either. And then I realised...because I had listened to the original soundtrack so often, because I have watched the film so many times, perhaps it's not possible for me to fully embrace the stage show in the same way as say, a young child today who hasn't had the original version ingrained into their brain. That's okay. I still liked it. I just didn't LOVE it.

Thinking and writing about reading and stuff

As a lecturer at a regional university in Queensland who spends her days teaching academic writing in a preparatory program I am delighted that 2012 has been declared the National Year of Reading because it draws attention to the absolute importance of the skills of both reading and writing. The challenges facing Australia in terms of its slipping literacy levels were discussed in Louise Maher’s piece for The Drum earlier this week. As an educator whose work cuts across this area I believe it is absolutely vital for Australia to fund programs of the sort she described which cater for those people who cannot read or write to a level that would allow them to easily manage daily tasks. I find myself facing slightly different, although not unrelated, challenges in my teaching. University preparatory programs (sometimes also called access or enabling programs) cater for people who want to enter the world of academia in order to better themselves. Sometimes they want a degree to help build a secure future for themselves and their families. Sometimes they want an education for its own sake. Both of these are admirable goals and the motivation I observe in so many of my students is inspiring. That being said, it can be challenging to teach academic writing to students who, in some cases, have fairly average literacy skills to begin with. How do you explain paragraph and essay structure to someone who can’t tell if they have written a sentence or a fragment? How can we expect them to be able to write and edit their own work to a standard expected in tertiary education? I’ll tell you. We go back to basics. For instance, on more than one occasion I have found myself explaining the difference between “it’s” and “its”. The look of amazement on the faces of many students is a sight to behold. The light bulb finally turns on. That’s not all though. We also explain things like the difference between “affect” and “effect”, between “personal” and “personnel”, between “definitely” and “defiantly”. Together, we spend time in class working out the difference between “they’re”, “their” and “there”. It’s wonderful. But wait, there’s more. In the first week of term I joyfully introduce a group of adults (who can be aged between 18 and 80) to the fact that we are going to have a spelling test three times a week for the next twelve weeks. I ignore the groans, frowns and scowls. Then I wait. Because in just a few weeks, these same adults are taking great pride in the fact that their spelling and vocabulary is improving. Soon they are recommending books to me instead of the other way around. They start asking me if I saw a particular documentary, or a story in the newspaper. If this tells us nothing else, it tells us just how empowering improving literacy skills can be. Now you may think that none of this should be necessary for adults, many of whom have completed their secondary schooling, attended TAFE, held jobs of considerable responsibility and in some cases, even been accepted into undergraduate degrees. I suspect the answer to that question is more complicated than simply blaming technology or the telly. The sad fact for us though, is that it is necessary. Does this tell us anything? Well, if we maintain the same benchmark for measuring literacy skills that was employed before these technologies had such an impact on the way we communicate, technology might well be the culprit. Although, maybe we need to acknowledge that the way literacy skills have been taught for the last couple of decades has not actually connected with the wider context in which students live, study and work. For any learning and teaching to be effective it has to connect with the world of the learner. So, rather than harking back to the good old days of the three Rs, we need to find ways of reconciling the value we so rightly put on a literate society with a culture that is also now technologically literate. Perhaps, what is needed is a way of embracing the change technology has brought to literacy skills and working with it instead of against it. If, as a nation, we made that our goal, then perhaps the focus of my work in a university preparatory program would change also. I could stop worrying about stray apostrophes and confused conjunctions. Until then, university preparatory programs need to continue, they must be consistently and adequately funded and they need to be recognized for the excellent work that so many of them do. The flow on effects from a concerted commitment to improving the nation’s literacy skills can be great indeed. (I like to think that I make a very small contribution to those skills). As a reader, writer and teacher, the National Year of Reading warms my heart; but, we need to face the fact that a long term, coherent approach to the shifting literacy landscape is no longer optional. It is essential. A year is an excellent start but it is not enough. It might take a generation.

I'm betting on the Dickens

We waved goodbye to January and welcomed in what I think is the worst month of the year - February. Why so bad? It's stinky hot here in sub-tropical Queensland and it's too short. Suddenly I seem to be running out of time on everything. This year it was made worse by having to go back to work after my lovely holiday. Within I day I had a yucky headache that lasted for three days. In the post-restructure of our area madness I was still doing half my old role, helping with another role that isn't mine at all, and trying to find time for my new role. Perhaps it is needless to say I wasn't particularly happy. I can only cross my fingers and hope that this week will be better, with less swearing and less bringing work home every night. Still I found time to squeeze in some telly. Thank you wonderful ABC for screening Doctor Who every night. These early David Tennant episodes are fantastic (much better than the Matt Smith/Ponds stuff of late in my opinion). Homeland has also been a highlight so far. Claire Danes is excellent, as are the rest of the cast. I am very much looking forward to tonight's episode. And last night, I laughed out loud at Graham Norton. I have forgiven the ABC for letting this show go to Channel Ten. If I record it and watch it an hour later I can avoid the annoying ad breaks. Goodness knows we all want to do that. I am determined to keep reading some fiction this year. My Kindle is still one of my favourite things in the whole world. Last week I bought the complete Dickens and started on Bleak House. Then, like a silly billy I started reading The Help as well. So now I have two books on the go at once which is never good because invariably one will be left unread. I'm betting on the Dickens. We shall see.