Random Bits of Information

The last two weeks have been... Well, I guess the best way to describe them is shite. There have been some things happening around the house that have caused me to spend more and more time in my bedroom, out of the way. Unfortunately, in retreating to my bedroom I am becoming more and more of a hermit and am starting to feel sad about not having a social life. Nothing is in place yet, but I am working on getting myself out of this "downer" situation. I am thinking that a change in scenery is in order. We'll see...

At school, there's a big push to be prepared for our Ofsted audit in March. Ofsted is an government agency that evaluates schools and publishes reports based on these evaluations. My school did not get a very good report the last time they were audited, so there is a big push to be successful this time around (otherwise, I've heard they shut down your school or something). They are in and around the school for a week, visiting classrooms, assessing teachers and auditing the overall success of the school. It seems to be a highly stressful time and preparations have already begun. This being my first Ofsted visit, I am especially concerned how things will go. If it is anything like today, I am screwed.
(On a sidenote, I am concerned as to why an Ofsted audit is announced. There is so much time spent in preparation, that all the auditors end up seeing is a big song-and-dance. How is that REALLY evaluating the success of a school - how well they can bullshit?)

My weekend, overall, was uneventful. Friday, I picked up a couple of movies to watch: "Bend it Like Beckham" and "Italian Job." Saturday, I rode into London hoping to hit a museum, but I had a late start so I just wandered around. I have my favorite places that I always go, but there's still so much more to see. This time I thought I would just get on the tube and explore another part of the city. I ended up on the Bakerloo line, and rode it to Paddington Station. The area was mainly residential, but very cute. Next time I will consult my guide book and make sure the area I choose is a little more interesting. Not wanting to leave London too early, I made my way to Trafalgar Square with a chai tea in hand. I figured that I could sit and watch the people for a little while. It turned out that there was a huge Russian Festival and the square was packed! So, I watched some band perform and watched the people while I drank my tea - it was wonderful! Maybe I'll try Notting Hill next weekend.

This is my horoscope for today:
The authority figures you've been dealing with lately are quite happy with you -- not only with what you've done, but with the reputable qualities you've displayed. They're not quite ready to show that to you just yet, however. So you'll need to be patient, or at least fake it for just a little while longer. You won't have to pretend you're happy once they offer you a bit more responsibility, though -- and that's what's coming. Oh, admit it. You just love this. Get some sleep. You'll need it.