May 24, 2010

  • Interim blog

    I will be updating about my mini-holiday in Ravenna shortly, but I have spent most of the afternoon clearing up after the washing machine decided to stop draining...nice flooded floor, with blue water... oh dear! Managed to unblock and unclog the filter and hope it's all working again now, but it did take rather a lot of mopping and clearing... so I haven't had time to sort out my 232 photos from the weekend and write about it yet!! 

    I had a nice potato + Heinz baked beans + Cheddar cheese lunch though. Mmmmm. Not quite right in the 27 degree heat, but still yummy! It is SO HOT. Not at all sure why I am planning to stay here this summer.... I'm going to die.

    So this is the last week of my 8 months working at the school. For 8 months I have been getting the number 11 bus to work. I take it from either of 2 places which are about an 8 minute walk from my house. I tend to just choose as I leave the house which way I want to walk, and go from there. Last week I was waiting for the bus and one of my students was there. He didn't get on the 11 when it came, and then I saw him at school, there before me. I asked him which bus he had taken and he said the 17. Well it turned out that that arrives pretty much right outside the school gate, while the 11 arrives about a 5 minute walk. So since they both go from the same place, I could have been doing that for the past 8 months!! I got the 17 to school the following day and it was perrrrrrfect! 
    Today I realised that that probably meant that the 17 that goes past my house (both the 11 and 17 drop me off opposite my house) came from round school as well. Lo and behold, from right outside the school gates... so today I went to the stop, waited with a large selection of my students from 4 different classes, and got the bus, and got off outside my house, without really having had to walk anywhere (nice in this heat!!). What an idiot for not finding out sooner though!! I was sure I had checked all the bus combinations and the 11 was the best one. Doh!! 

    Updated to add: clearly spoke too soon as after writing that the washing machine flooded the WHOLE HOUSE (bathroom, kitchen, everywhere). I only knew about it when the neighbours from below came and rang the bell saying there was water in their house.... discovered the filter was just flooding a river out. Managed to stop it but then there was so much to mop up.... literally masses. I was mopping non stop and they came again to say it hadn't stopped coming through! Really hope there isn't too much damage. Finally cleared it all up and have called the landlord and left a message on his answerphone which hopefully he will get... what a complete nightmare. I really don't feel like going out to work etc now.