School is kicking my butt

Whoo wee.  Trying to stay organized has never been my strong point, but man, I can't seem to get on top of it here.  You'd think I'd get how the system works by now; the different age levels, the form class responsibilitites, the different schedule every day, but no.  It's not coming smoothly for me.

Is it old age?  Am I just so stuck in my ways that I can't do things in a new way?  So interesting  to think about.  Well, interesting for me.  How do we make decisions about the best way to do things?  How much is what we are already comfortable with, and how much is really taking the time to consider what the best choices are?

And I suppose, how much is being told what we have to do, no matter what our opinion is about it?

That's the same everywhere.

I am thrilled about going to Vienna for Christmas.  Yes, I'll miss my family and friends, but I miss them anyway.  There's something about only being gone for a year that makes that part easier.  Again, being older helps as well.  I am coming up on my fourth month here.  My second haircut.  My second grading period.  My second umbrella. 

I've not had proper pizza in all that time.  I'm sure it exists, I just don't know where to look.  I'm still in love with Indian food though, and could eat it every night.  Potato Farls are lovely things; a cross between potatoes and bread.  Fry them or toast them with butter?   Yum.  What else?  Oh, tea.  Lots and lots of tea.  I've always prefered it to coffee, but man... you should see me now.  All day long I'm drinking it.  And it's true; the cheapest British tea is still better than our tea back in the states. 

My mornings are different here.  I get up in the dark and turn on the heater immediately.  I wait a half hour or so before running the bathtub so the water is warmed up.  There's no shower here, although there is an anemic handheld sprayer attached.  It takes a while for the tub to fill, and it's always a challenge to keep it not too cold and not too hot.  I use a big plastic cup to wash and rinse my hair, and am thankful I've got only a little bit at the moment to take care of (went too short last time at the hairdresser's).

Generally I look for the warmest outfit I can wear to work (a uniform of trousers, long-sleeved polo or turtleneck shirt, and a cashmere or wool sweater).  Every two weeks or so I might wear a skirt and boots, but not too often. I have an incredibly ugly pair of black, waterproof shoes from Land's End, and I wear them every day to school and back.  I keep a brown and black pair of Danskos at school, and change into them once I arrive.  I walk through a field to get to the bus stop, and learned my lesson the hard way.  Wet feet all day is not a pleasant experience.  I'm still looking for Wellies, but my tree-trunk calves are making that quest rather difficult.

I have to remember to turn off the heat before I leave, and get my key and scarf and gloves before I go.  I try to leave by 7:20 or so, to make the 7:30 bus, but am not always successful.  The street lights are still on when I leave, because the sun doesn't rise until almost 8 (7:55 today) and they are on again when I leave.  At 3:51 the sun went down today.  That's been the hardest to get used to, because I want to go to bed around 8 every night.  You know, my body thinks, "Well, it's been dark for four hours, time to sleep."  But I have miles to go and all that.

One thing that's odd is that all the shops in the shopping center here close at 6 or even 5:30 most nights.  Tonight is late night, with some stores keeping their doors open until 7.  It's actually advertised as "late night shopping."  Of course, it's not like that in central London, but I'm not in central London.  I usually stay at work until 6 anyway, so it'sa bit of a challenge.

Okay, back to the morning.  I walk to the bus stop, minding all the dog poo in the field/playing area as I go and trying not to fall in the wet grass, and then take the W8 to Enfield Civic Center.  I jump off, and walk a block or so, and usually miss my connecting bus, which is the 313, the 307, the 191, the 121, or the 231.  You'd think with all those choices, I'd catch one pretty quick, but I swear they somehow synchronize their arrivals just to miss me.

I usually get to school around a quarter to 8 or so, unless I missed my first bus, and after a cup of tea, my day has begun.