On Strike - Again!

Last week has been harrowing in more ways than one for me. You may recall that back in October Catholic teachers in Queensland were on strike over pay conditions. Alas, that strike had no effect, and so industrial action has been stepped up - two weeks back we held a ban on extra-curricular activities for one whole week, which resulted in nothing, and so last Wednesday we had another full day strike, followed by an indefinite ban on extra curricular activities.

Personally, I believe in the issue we are fighting for (Queensland Catholic teachers are the lowest paid in the state, and in my pay band, I earn $7000 less than if I worked in NSW), but I'm not sure I'm totally in favour of the action, in the format we are taking. I really enjoy doing my extra-curricular activities, and I don't want to stop rehearsing my choir (especially as they are the good choir in the school and I only just got them) but I am really torn - my principle, despite having voted "no" on the extra-curricular component, is to support my colleagues - which means I have to follow the strike action.

So I am doing so - which meant that last Wednesday I had the day off, unpaid. Knowing that Wednesday is a day that Mum and Dad mind Bethany, I decided to go up to their place on Tuesday night, stay over, and then spend some time with Bethany the next morning before going off to look at potential flats (more on that in a later post). Dad had asked if I would go up there because he was quite keen to take Bethany out in the dinghy for her first dinghy ride - but she is a bit of a live wire and you really need someone there just to manage her. We had a fabulous time though, she seemed to really enjoy the dinghy experience, and like all Grandchildren before her, and I'm sure after her, she had a go at "steering" the dinghy too!

Here's a little vid I made to commemorate the whole thing:

Birthday, Birthdays and Moore Birthdays!

As my efforts at posting this year have been somewhat remiss, I thought I should at least make another attempt - even though I know that no-one is reading this anymore. At least it'll be an online diary for me...

So we have had now since the last birthday I mentioned, another 5 birthday celebrations (although one was my brother in law's which he celebrated with his immediate family). The birthdays were:

December - Mum's 60th and Lach's 11th, on the same day - Kev's a bit earlier

February - mine

March - Miss G's 1st birthday.

So in order, here's what happened:

Mum's 60th / Lach's 11th

Mum's 60th and Lach's 11th fall on the same day. This year, being Mum's 60th, it was a big celebration - Dad booked, as a surprise, the Kookaburra Queen for us all for lunch - Mum didn't know about it. All she knew was that at some point in the day we were all going somewhere nice for a meal. Beck organised though for Mum to have her make-up specially done by a friend of hers (all paid of course), and then Dad drove her (via Nanny's to pick up Nanny and Mal) into town, where we all met her at the pier. This though, was not without some drama - as poor Mel and Kev discovered that the journey into town from their place is infinitely longer than they had allowed, and they literally had to run for the boat, boarding with just minutes to spare! The boat doesn't wait!

After the absolutely gorgeous lunch, I had planned for Mum my gift - a concert at the Powerhouse with the Idea of North. It was a very fitting end to a truly lovely day!

Mine

My birthday this year was infinitely better than last year! I suspect that's because this year I decided that it couldn't be as bad as the last, so I wasn't going to let it get me down - plus, instead of going out for a meal, I decided that I preferred something much more quiet - a lunch at Mum's. So, Mum cooked up my favourite meal, Chicken casserole, and everyone came over for Sunday lunch (well, everyone except Mal and Nanny). The cake was lovely: Mum made it out of cupcakes, and they were oh so yummy, and oh so pretty.

The actual day itself was pretty good too - namely because this year I actually told people at school that it was happening, so they planned a lovely morning tea for me. The other thing that made a huge difference was that I didn't have an awful Curriculum Team meeting after school to lead, with my team of well-meaning misfits! And then on the actual day, Mel, Mum and Beck took me to see my all time most favourite musical, Avenue Q! So I truly had a special day!

Gabby's

I was very privileged to be able to share in my niece's first birthday. Beck decided to hold a party at her house, and I was put (again) in charge of the 'pass the parcel'. The special thing about this party was that Nanny actually made it, so that was lovely. There were so many people there! It was truly a lovely day.

So that's been the birthday update... the next batch I think (other than Demo's in May) will be July - and then it will be bang, bang, bang - one after the other... I just love birthdays!

The Australian Open

Ok, so its been a bit of a while since I last posted - but to be fair its not necessarily because there isn't anything to say - its just that I haven't had time to say it.

Anyway, in January I went to Melbourne to see the Australian Open, and I made this little video about it. Its pretty corny, but you get the picture...