A Moon-lit Flit.

We are off to Frogknot tonight........Will has an 'parent's information evening' at work and when he gets back we are going.We won't be there until after midnight but it will mean that we can get two whole days there.We are taking our first load of stuff to leave up there, two suitcases of clothes, a flamingo, a peacock, a rusty old spade and 'Audrey II'.......the move has begun! 

The near-miss.

So.......24 degrees may not seem that hot but it is too hot for me to easily sleep. It was coming light again and the temperature had dropped down to about 22 degrees before I finally dropped off.I woke after 9.30. Will was already up.Reaching for my phone I saw that there had been a phonecall, that I had missed, at 6.09 am .........I felt sick.....not because I had missed it but because it was surely a 'supply teacher' call.......'Tracer' works!27 years of teaching experience counted for nothing.....I was utterly terrified of going back into a classroom. I know nothing about the Australian curriculum.....I have not spent any of my idle hours researching it......what does that say? If it is anything like the UK system perhaps I should read about it at night....I would be asleep in no time!Making breakfast, well brunch, by the time I had gathered my wits, I suddenly remembered whiteboards.......and felt sick again. I could see myself turning up at a school not knowing what to do......Heck, I remembered parents too!......Now they are scary!.....and that's even before you count the children.I could have run away......but I didn't know where to run to.I discovered later, quite by accident, that I should have completed some online training anyway before I even get into schools. Surely this should be quite clear on the Tracer website, that even before you can indicate your availability to teach you have to prove you have done the required training....but no, apparently not. Phew, Imagine that if I had not missed the call turned up, been asked to show evidence of the online training and then turned away!I felt sick again.......getting back to work is hard work!I tried to get on to 'The Learning Place' to do my training......but didn't have a user ID or password. I rang the Department of Education and Training and finally got through to someone who hadn't a clue how to help me, went away to find out and came back equally clueless!"Oh, it says I can email 'The Learning Place' for an ID and password," I said, just noticing it."Yes do that" said the numpty, relieved.I did email and await a reply.I rang Tracer again in my ongoing  quest to discover if my profile had been deactivated......now, obviously it hadn't or else I would not have had the call......but I was doing it now out of a desire to show them up for their lack of communication."Hello, I rang yesterday trying to find out if my Tracer profile had been deactivated and I was told someone would ring back.....they haven't.""Oh, sorry can I take your details and I will get some one to ring you.""Er....that's what they said yesterday and no one did. Can you just put me through now to a person I can speak to about it?""No, sorry this is just a messaging service.""Can you give me the number then of the person I need to speak to about this?""I'm sorry they haven't given us any numbers that we can pass on."It beggars belief!I was surprised at myself that I must have still had some small reserve of patience left for me not to fly off the handle."I will get someone to ring.....shall I mark it urgent?""Yes, please," I said.Will and I went off to lounge in the new open air pool at Springfield. I got the call while we were on the way.The girl was very nice and said that 'yes, my profile was still active' ....but I knew that....she did apologise for not getting back to me sooner about it."Have a nice day," she said. I was I was heading to a pool while she was stuck in an office.Back home, they 'Tracer' had finally replied to my email that I sent last week telling them not to deactivate my profile.......it had taken them over a week to get to my email......why?!...they are not distracted by phone calls because no bugger can ring them!'Please make sure you engage in some teaching activity before 1st April 2016, or you profile will automatically be deactivated,' it warned.I am not going to bother saying I am available to teach here in Brisbane now. The school year ends soon and next week I am working with Wendi at the University on Monday, have a PET scan on Wednesday and then at the end of the week the family gathers to clear the house out for its imminent sale.I can't concentrate until everything is settled and we are up at Frogknot permanently. 

Doing stuff for Derek.

So.....I am required to record 20 job search activities for my appointment with Derek next month.Today I rang 'Tracer', the supply teacher register, to ask if they had received my recent email, which I asked them to reply to......a request they ignored. In their email they had said that my profile would be deactivated if they did not hear from me.The girl I spoke to at 'Tracer' today took my details and said someone would get back to me........they didn't. (I am counting this as Task for Derek 1)I updated my 'Tracer' profile to show which days I am available next week.(Task 2)I then created my 'Digital Portfolio' online.......(have a peek)....NicholasAllenCV(This is Task 3)Finally, I collated a list of 13 schools around Stanthorpe that I will contact with a link to my Digital Portfolio.(I am counting that as Task 4...........16 more to go!)

Prelude to a storm.

It's good to have my camera back!

Monotone in Moorooka.

So........this morning I went off to Moorooka.It is an interesting place about 10 minutes from home. You can easily imagine you are wandering around Nairobi, what with the colourful inhabitants and unusual aromas from the local shops.I parked in the underground car park for Woolies. A sign screamed 'FOR CUSTOMERS ONLY!'.Well, I am a customer, I just wasn't going in today.Waiting to cross the road I noticed a dead cockroach, covered in ants, lying on the road. It had obviously not waited for the green man.I found my destination, 'Cursa' (I have changed the name for possible legal reasons)....and went in.Derek, for it was he, was sat behind the reception desk. I introduced myself and he fiddled with his computer without even a smile or greeting."What did you say your name was?"I repeated it and he tapped away at his keyboard."Oh, this is your first time. Well, you need this.........and this........and, er........one of these......."He started reaching around and placing different forms and handouts on the counter in front of me."And you will have to fill this in. There is a pen there and if you go in there," he indicated another room," there is a table to sit at." His voice was unusually unexpressive and monotone.I walked off taking my wad of papers and sat at the table in the other room and set about filling it in.Someone somewhere was having trouble coughing up some phlegm.Derek was taking in his dull way to another woman in reception. She sounded Spanish. I couldn't concentrate on what they were saying because I was too busy filling my forms in.When they were done I took them back to Derek."Oh, you are a teacher?" there was a slight bit of intonation in that question."What do you teach?"I always want to say "children" when asked that but answered properly this time."Are you registered?""Yes, I am registered with the Queensland .......er......" I couldn't remember what it was called, ".......thingy."Heck! I sounded professional!"And I am on the Tracer Supply Register." Well I hoped I was. I replied to their email saying they were going to take me off if I didn't respond before the 2oth.I asked them to acknowledge receipt of my email......but had heard nothing.Derek slipped into rote mode reeling off information that he must have had to give out so many times. The coughing started again from a room nearby. Whoever it was they sounded in the throes of death. Derek continued. His shirt collar needed straightening.....it was distracting.An elderly lady wandered out. She was the cougher. I think it was Derek's gran. She was carrying some newspapers. She took them into the room with the table and then came out again.Derek was explaining the streams. I was in Stream A apparently. Stream C are those who need lots of help and support, translators etc to find work, Stream B need some help but Stream A are those who are considered to be work ready and find jobs easily.A young girl arrived and Derek had to deal with her. It was her first time too. Derek had to find all the forms again from their various differing places to give to her.I wondered about suggesting to Derek that he puts all the papers people need on their first visit together so you can hand them a complete pack and look like you know what you are doing instead of a numpty.The girl went into the table room to fill her forms in and Derek slipped back into his monologue. He did not make eye contact, when he looked up he just looked at my beard.....but that was no good, everything below my nose was asleep and the rest was getting ready to drop off.I had to do 20 job enquiries each month and fill in a form to get my payments. I was thinking I could just about manage the first month by putting my CV in schools but heck! who do I apply to after that.....in Stanthorpe? There are only a few schools there!Derek's gran came out  and went to the girl."Hi Melissa, follow me." She took the girl into her Phlegmitorium.'Ah,' I thought, 'if you are Stream B or C you see Derek's gran, but if you are Stream A you are deemed to have enough strength to cope with Derek and just stand for, what feels like, hours at reception.Derek had finished....he nudged me awake from my torpor and gave me a few more bits of paper."So, what do you teach?"As well as all his other skills, he was attentive to."Children" I said.