Offtopic Sofa Time

New arrivals, including the hello threads and the sofa.
TJ4ever
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Re: Offtopic Sofa Time

Post by TJ4ever »

Had a tap dance class this weekend! We learnt some new time steps. It was fun although I was not very good at it! My feet are killing me! Got to go to bed now!

Good night!

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Re: Offtopic Sofa Time

Post by Sinkwriter72 »

Simone, I love that you are trying tap dancing! Whoo! Go, you! :D

Just inspires me so much and reminds me that it doesn't matter what your age -- you should always try new things and be open to exploring whatever fun projects intrigue you the most.

Will you eventually have a dance recital?
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Re: Offtopic Sofa Time

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Trying is the right word for it, Sherry. Well, but I think I am doing allright considering my age and the short time I have been doing this. And of course only having a tap dance class from time to time. Unfortunately it is not frequently. (Hope I used the correct terms/times! :) )
Sinkwriter72 wrote:

Will you eventually have a dance recital?
You mean like a show or something like that? No, there is nothing planned. I actually don't know, when the next class will take part. The organizers cancelled the class. Private lessons are too expensive, so I don't know yet where I can continue it. Haven't start looking. Maybe there is another class, but I don't know if they are not to advanced. We'll see!

Good night! (It's almost 11pm here and I have to get up early.)
Simone
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Re: Offtopic Sofa Time

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GAHHHHH! :shock:

One day left, one day left. There are just not enough hours in the day! Today I've got a long list of things to accomplish, and I'm already feeling the tension that I might not get it all done, but I'm going to try my hardest.

Tomorrow's Moving Day, and my lovely family is coming to help me. I've already painstakingly moved about 35 boxes to the storage unit (why oh why do I have so many books?!), along with various odds and ends, so that my family doesn't have to help with everything. I've got all sorts of wacky bruises and scrapes from hauling the heaviest boxes down flights of stairs (ugh), but at the same time, I feel very independent and macho (my poor biceps ache). Heee. :D

Okay, off I go to get focused and get stuff done!

Just wanted to pop in to say hi, and that I hope you're all having a fantastic week.

P.S. The Chicago weather reports say there might be thunderstorms tomorrow. Moving in the midst of that would suck! Please think good, sunny thoughts for me. Thanks!! Hugs & Kisses to you all! :mrgreen:
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ThyneAlone
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Re: Offtopic Sofa Time

Post by ThyneAlone »

Thinking of you, sweetie. This kind of upheaval is what one does not need at this stage in one's life. It certainly puts my little grumbles this week (supposed to be a holiday - mirthless laugh - loads of work plus not feeling 100%, but it is as nothing compared to your horrible inventory) into perspective. I have been crossing my fingers to the point of numbness that something turns up on your job horizon, hopefully I'll have more luck with gentle weather thoughts. Take care and let us know how it goes.
Love,
Steph x
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TJ4ever
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Re: Offtopic Sofa Time

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Sinkwriter72 wrote:
P.S. ... Please think good, sunny thoughts for me.
I will do that, Sherry!

Take care!
Simone
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Sinkwriter72
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Re: Offtopic Sofa Time

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Thank you for the sunny weather thoughts, ladies! Here's hoping it works. :D

At this point, it's almost 8 PM, I haven't eaten dinner, but I'm actually so tired and sweaty and muscle-weary that I don't feel like eating. I just really, really want something cold to drink and a nice long shower. And my bed. I really want that.

But I'm NOT DONE YET. *groan* Every time I think I'm nearing completion, I turn around and see something I haven't gotten to yet. Or something I forgot, like the small drawers in my kitchen (silverware, dish towels, measuring cups, spatulas and mixing spoons, cookie cutters, those sorts of odds-n-ends things). I whine for a couple seconds about how I just want to lie down, and then I suck it up and keep going. But my whole body is aching for a nap. Or just to sit down (which is why I'm currently taking a break to type this post -- hi, everyone!).

My brother-in-law says not to worry about it, that I don't have to have EVERYTHING done by the time they come to help tomorrow (love my brother-in-law), but I keep pushing myself because they've helped me move before so this time I want as much done without their help, so all they have to do is haul boxes down stairs and fill up their vehicles. I don't want anything to be disorganized, when they're being so kind taking time and energy to help me move.

And where's the Fed Ex guy?! He was scheduled to be here sometime between 6 PM and 7:30 PM to pick up a big box o' stuff (old techno equipment, like computer CDs, floppy disks, audio & VHS tapes, etc.), to be taken to a green company that specializes in recycling such materials. I don't want to have to move that with me.

Okay, I'm done grumbling. Back to the boxes I go! Hope you're all having a fantastic Thursday evening (or early Friday morning, wherever you are).

P.S. Don't worry, Steph. Just as I'm apparently reminding you, I've also been reminded that I should count my blessings. An acquaintance friend's father passed away two months ago, and another online friend recently lost her mom (and just emailed me that she might have to sell their family home, after living there and taking care of her ailing mother for years). What's a little packing and moving and job hunting compared to that, you know? In some ways, I'm still very, very lucky. (Doesn't mean we can't acknowledge that sometimes life is frustrating, though!) :mrgreen: Hugs to you all.
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Re: Offtopic Sofa Time

Post by sofilps »

Good Luck tomorrow Sherry! And please rest!! like your brother-in-law said, you don't need to do everything before they arrive ;) sometimes a little help is good. I'll cross my fingers for the good weather. Here it's starting to freeezeee and I have to go out early tomorrow to do some stuff (buy a DVD for my brother) and I don't want because it's going to be very cold outside.

:P
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Sinkwriter72
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Re: Offtopic Sofa Time

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Well, I just don't understand it. I thought you guys could control the weather. ;)

It's been raining on and off all morning, they're predicting thunderstorms, the lights have been flickering on and off, the apartment lost power for a few minutes earlier, and now it's not raining but it's REALLY windy.

I've managed to finish packing up the last of the odds and ends. Just need to pack my clothes (which should be easy... throw it all in a suitcase, for the most part). I'm waiting for my family to arrive, should be any time now.

I'm calm and focused, but my stomach's a bit knotty (concerned about the weather, my family traveling here in yucky weather, and that we might not get the moving done today before the storage place locks up for the night, if the weather slows us down). I'm also physically weary. I was up till midnight and kind of fell into bed, woke up at five-thirty, got up for a half hour to back up the info on my computer to an external hard drive, crawled back to bed for an hour, then got up to finish the last minute packing. I've been boxing stuff all morning, and moving boxes around, and it's been all week doing that, so my muscles aren't appreciating it. :D What can I do? It's got to get done.

Anyway, I'm just waiting for my family to arrive so we can get moving, so I thought I'd take a momentary break to say hi and give y'all an update. It's probably the last chance I'll have to do so until tonight or tomorrow morning, so... thanks, everyone, for your positive thoughts! Hope your Fridays are shaping up nicely. With sunny weather. 8)

Be well! xoxo
~ Sherry
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Re: Offtopic Sofa Time

Post by late_heart »

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...don't hurt yourself, baby! Here's to sunny skies and an easy move.
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ThyneAlone
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Re: Offtopic Sofa Time

Post by ThyneAlone »

Oh <<squeeeeeaaall!>>
FANTASTIC, Annie!!
Sherry: if that doesn't cheer you up, hon, you're beyond saving. Hope it all went as well as it could under the circumstances. I will be having a really sharp few words with my Weather Control people - I might have a few vacancies there in the near future.

:evil: :x
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begolden
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Re: Offtopic Sofa Time

Post by begolden »

Fabulous! I think I might be tempted to move myself...
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Sinkwriter72
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Re: Offtopic Sofa Time

Post by Sinkwriter72 »

*laughing hysterically*

Late_heart, darling friend... you did indeed make my day. Immeasurably.

*hugs you*

Though I'm not sure I'd have wanted the magnificent "Soul Man" Hodgins and the apparently bendy Zack (hee) to see me the way I looked the last two days. No makeup whatsoever, hair all clipped up and messy, hot, sweaty, dusty, and mildly cranky.

Yeah, I was really sexy. :roll:

hahaha

Nevertheless, yes, the bug man moves me all the time. (heh heh) And I would not have turned him away if he'd shown up at my door. ;)

*pauses a moment to imagine that* Ah, definitely 'delighted' thoughts, AF. MUCH appreciated! :mrgreen:

Okay, I'm exhausted. But I'm all wound up, so I'm trying to decompress a bit before going to bed. Just got out of the shower, which felt just about as amazing as you can imagine, after all the work put in today.

Yesterday morning, it stormed so much that the giant tree you can see in the background/distance of that snowy video I once linked to in this thread CRACKED IN HALF. The large, heavy branches on one side collapsed and landed just shy of the apartment dumpsters. However, that was all before my family arrived to help move. After they arrived, it remained overcast and breezy but the weather held while we hauled boxes and furniture. Thank goodness (and again thank you all for your sunny weather thoughts, LOL)!

I wouldn't say it was an easy move, but it went well, all things considered. I think by the end of the day, each of us had scrapes and bruises here and there (I sure do!), and we ached, but we got it all done and didn't kill each other, so that's something. In fact, when we began, my sister put her hand out and said to me and my dad, let's all promise right now that we will still love each other at the end of the day, no matter how things go. So we all put our hands in and made that 'pact.' *GRIN* It was pretty funny.

And I now owe my family big-time. They worked SO hard, and I couldn't have done it without them. Seriously. Yesterday with the moving, and today with the cleaning the apartment top to bottom. I couldn't have gotten it all done by myself.

I started payback by taking everyone out for ice cream last night. Whatever they wanted. Hey, it's a start. :D

It's been a very long three days, and I have a ton of sorting through boxes, finding what I need, and unpacking to do before I feel like I can relax and settle in to my grandmother's home. I think the hardest part was turning over my keys to the apartment management office tonight -- I was physically exhausted, in desperate need of food and a shower, we'd been cleaning all day up till the very last minute before the office closed, my feet were (and still are) aching like crazy, and because I had to get over to the office to give them my keys, I ended up with no real time to take a moment, say a mental goodbye to the place I'd made my home for the last five years, and adjust to the fact that I'm going to have to give up some of my independence and rely on others for a while.

I think it's going to be a very interesting time. I have no idea what the upcoming months will bring -- do we ever, though? -- and I'm just going to have to hold on and ride it out. Come what may!

Here's hoping this is the start of a wonderful summer, for ALL of you! And of course for TJ. 8)

Thanks again so much for the picture, Late_heart. It made my evening, giving me such an unexpected laugh after a long day.
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TJ4ever
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Re: Offtopic Sofa Time

Post by TJ4ever »

The "sunny weather thoughts" must have been redirected! It´s so hot here! Sorry, Sherry! Although I hope everything went right!

Simone
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Re: Offtopic Sofa Time

Post by begolden »

You're a trooper Sherry! Just remember, we all love ya here and will support you in cyberspace through the coming months!
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Sinkwriter72
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Re: Offtopic Sofa Time

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*hugs Rebecca*

Thank you for the cyberspace support!! :D

I'm still living out of boxes, trying to find where my necessities are (while trying not to make a big cluttered mess of my relatives' home -- most of my stuff is stored in their basement and I jog down there and sort through the boxes to get to what I need). But that's made me feel a bit out of place, like I'm in limbo or something. I've been feeling off track, so this morning I got up early and worked out, trying to get back into a routine, anything to help me re-focus and feel like myself again. One step at a time, I guess.

I'm so grateful for your kind words -- they give me plenty of smiles when I'm feeling lost.
xo
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Re: Offtopic Sofa Time

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Hey, Steph! I saw you online a bit ago, saying Happy Birthday to Sofi. How are you? Are you almost done with school yet? Will you get a summer break, or do you keep working and prepping straight through? Miss your voice around here!
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Re: Offtopic Sofa Time

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Yep, gotta apologise for that, it's been a hell of a week and more to come - I've been looking in, but minus time to post properly. Hope all is well with you and that the dust is settling and you have managed some rest, we've been thinking of you here.

Now to answer your questions! Almost done with school? Heehee! This is our busiest, most chaotic period. We don't finish till the 10th of July - which is actually early, as most of the local schools don't break till a week later and I have known some primary schools soldier on till beyond the 20th! During May we did all the (external) oral exams for the 16+ year-olds, who are now on exam leave. Then the 18-year-old leavers departed likewise. You'd think things would let up, but no, suddenly all my freed lessons are taken up with cover and public exam invigilation - and during the latter we are actually not allowed to do any marking or preparation. Then we work out half-term assessments for our pupils. During our supposed half-term week off (late May) I wrote my Leavers' reports, prepared my internal exams and struggled for a couple of days with my job of recasting tutor groups for next year. At present Year 7 (starters at secondary level, 11-12 years), for which I am pastorally responsible, is split up into four groups, and for the first time ever they are re-mixing them in Yr 8. This means 4 new groups of almost exactly similar ability spread, same numbers of each present group in each new one AND they have been given the chance to request 6 classmates they'd like to stay with (though some have ended up with only 2 or 3)!!! Small but stressful-to-prepare (lack of rehearsal - it's all solos) concert with singing teacher at the end of the week

Back to work and internal exams are all next week, so the languages dept has had to do all its aural tests (untimetabled) in the past few days. Ensure all papers are ready for next week. Next week it's back to 5 and a half hours of orals (tape them, mark at home), marking of all written exams, a revision session for a group involved in public exams the following week and a day of personal Health and Social Education for the Yr 7s in which I am, of course, involved. Meantime respond to all parental concerns about half-term assessments. Prepare for open activities day (primary kids coming in to view and have fun), the French reading competition which is my responsibility, and Induction Evening. Write reports for all the rest of the pupils apart from one set, which has a parent/teacher night instead! Write Head of Yr reports for the 100 Yr 7 pupils. Show my face at end-of-term plays and concerts. All in 4 and a half weeks. I would have been at Sports Day today too, were it not for a choral society concert tonight for which I have a full afternoon rehearsal! People wonder at me singing outside (I also do church choir; whole day taken up tomorrow attending a friend's ordination at the Cathedral and then singing at his inaugural Mass in the evening), but it's what keeps me sane, quite honestly.

Summer has become hit and miss familywise, as none of us break up at the same time. Son no.1 is already home from uni and due to take off to Spain with some friends next week, but for the rest of the holiday is going to find a job. We must get down to Essex for a weekend to visit my parents and will also be in Guernsey in the Channel Islands for a few days, and hubby and I may take a day or two away for our 22nd anniversary in July. But yes, there will also be a substantial amount of prepping for an entirely new timetable next academic year with a lot of changes of timings and options.

Ooh, that feels great. A good moan really helps, doesn't it? Anyway - hence absence! Don't worry - I'm still dipping in daily and wishing you all the best of times. <<hug>>
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Sinkwriter72
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Re: Offtopic Sofa Time

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I... am exhausted just reading what you wrote, Steph. Sounds like so much work! I hope you enjoy your work, else I'd think you'd start to go a bit mad with all of that to do. I salute you, wonderful dedicated teacher! :D

Thanks also for popping in to say hello. I was wondering how things were going for you, and now I see how absolutely unsurprising it is that we haven't heard from you much lately. I hope things go as smoothly as possible, and that you soon are able to take that long-awaited, much deserved relaxing breather. *hugs supportively*
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begolden
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Re: Offtopic Sofa Time

Post by begolden »

Quite exhausting indeed, Steph! And here I am with only one more week left of teaching, and two more weeks until I take off for Britain! So, here's wishing you smooth sailing through exams and special events and all else required to educate those fine young students.
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