This and that
I've not been doing badly in the last week or so.
I'm most of the way through the process for handing over to my successor at the old School Job 1, and have passed the medical screening for New School Job (Hmm. I may have to think about how to redesignate my jobs for the purposes of this journal, for the sake of clarity). Elsewhere, one of the Chairs at School Job 2 got the wrong end of the stick about something and behaved like a complete arse about it (luckily my 'line manager', inasmuch as I have one, backed me up) and a Chair at one of the other schools resigned - with immediate effect - as she couldn't stand working with the Headteacher any longer. I see politics ahead on that front, what with the election of a new Chair being necessary...
Things do seem a bit calmer ATM. I've actually made some proper headway on the book I started reading in November(!) and had time to cook real food, for once, the other day (a pearl barley, kale and sausage stew, which might have been slightly better for not using barley which had been sat in the cupboard for years). I'm also making good progress on decluttering: Since the start of the month, I've achieved over 100 items in the Declutter 2015 challenge (The target is 365, plus one item has to go out for every new item in, without it counting to your total).
And last night A and I went to the cinema to see Ex Machina. I need to be a bit careful about what I say about it, as I know that at least two people on my f-list are planning to see it soon. So, the following is hopefully with low-to-zero spoilers:
I had some initial reservations about the scriptwriter's level of clue, which were swiftly overcome. It's very much a film of ideas, primarily about identity. Between the script, the acting and the composition, I ended up questioning the humanity of all four main characters at one point or another. I'm not in a position to say whether that was the creators' intention, or whether it was just because I think too much. ;)
The film has plenty for experienced sci-fi fans to get their teeth into, both about technical practicalities and about ethics. Some of it was extremely uncomfortable viewing, both re the sexual politics of some characters' words/actions and in one particular bit of body horror, which made me wince and squirm. To sum it up: definitely a good film, but equally definitely not a nice film.
(If the last sentence of the above paragraph is at all puzzling, other films I would put in that category include Seven and Killer Joe. I may want to watch it again one day, when it's faded from the memory a bit, but I certainly won't want to do so any time soon.)
I'm most of the way through the process for handing over to my successor at the old School Job 1, and have passed the medical screening for New School Job (Hmm. I may have to think about how to redesignate my jobs for the purposes of this journal, for the sake of clarity). Elsewhere, one of the Chairs at School Job 2 got the wrong end of the stick about something and behaved like a complete arse about it (luckily my 'line manager', inasmuch as I have one, backed me up) and a Chair at one of the other schools resigned - with immediate effect - as she couldn't stand working with the Headteacher any longer. I see politics ahead on that front, what with the election of a new Chair being necessary...
Things do seem a bit calmer ATM. I've actually made some proper headway on the book I started reading in November(!) and had time to cook real food, for once, the other day (a pearl barley, kale and sausage stew, which might have been slightly better for not using barley which had been sat in the cupboard for years). I'm also making good progress on decluttering: Since the start of the month, I've achieved over 100 items in the Declutter 2015 challenge (The target is 365, plus one item has to go out for every new item in, without it counting to your total).
And last night A and I went to the cinema to see Ex Machina. I need to be a bit careful about what I say about it, as I know that at least two people on my f-list are planning to see it soon. So, the following is hopefully with low-to-zero spoilers:
I had some initial reservations about the scriptwriter's level of clue, which were swiftly overcome. It's very much a film of ideas, primarily about identity. Between the script, the acting and the composition, I ended up questioning the humanity of all four main characters at one point or another. I'm not in a position to say whether that was the creators' intention, or whether it was just because I think too much. ;)
The film has plenty for experienced sci-fi fans to get their teeth into, both about technical practicalities and about ethics. Some of it was extremely uncomfortable viewing, both re the sexual politics of some characters' words/actions and in one particular bit of body horror, which made me wince and squirm. To sum it up: definitely a good film, but equally definitely not a nice film.
(If the last sentence of the above paragraph is at all puzzling, other films I would put in that category include Seven and Killer Joe. I may want to watch it again one day, when it's faded from the memory a bit, but I certainly won't want to do so any time soon.)