Teenagers will be teenagers!

This is my 100th posting!  I have been wondering what to write about and finally something happened in school today which I thought amused me a lot.

I normally put my notes for my students to copy on powerpoint so today was not different.  Only the students were rather restless and noisy so I told them I am not going to wait for anyone who talks but will wait for anyone who does not talk and writes away.  Then some boys objected and I reminded them that they could not talk and write at the same time as 'boys cannot multitask'.... Well, of course I provoked them and got them protesting and calling me sexist!  But my point was proven when the loudest point started arguing with me using his writing hand to make his point and then, I happily pointed out to him that what I say was correct!  He was talking and not writing at the same time!  That was quite amusing as it got more of the boys to quieten down to copy the notes.  

Then another boy said, "I wonder if there was anything boys could do that girls cannot."  I could not help myself and said that I will enlightened them on some biology and that in the future when they and their spouses or partners could not have baby boys, then they should remember that only males have the Y chromosome and they are the ones responsible for not having any boys and not their wives.  It was amusing to me as it took them by surprise and it took about a minute before it click with them to absorb in what I was on about.....

Do you have pain in the soles of your feet?

A few months ago, I slipped and fell twice on the morning ice in winter.  I thought all I had was 2 sprained feet (still went to work) but now the pain had gotten worst so I resorted to seeing a Chinese doctor who is also an acupuncture expert.  The first thing she said to me was I had very poor blood circulation in my feet.  No wonder I always had extremely cold feet and could never seem to get them warm so I end up wearing socks to bed as most old houses in NZ do not have central heating.  

Not only did she tell tell me that I had poor blood circulation but also my pain in the heel part on the soles of my feet when I put pressure (like walking!) on them is also due to my sciatica which I had for years.  I did not even think that my falls were that bad.  Anyways, the 2 treatments I had seemed to be working but I still have a lot more to go.  All I am hoping for is the pain to disappear in the near future so I can go back to enjoy my walks while doing window shopping!!!

It has been quite a few years since I had acupuncture done and I do believe they work on chronic aches and pains.  However, I was a bit surprised that now they have also attached some electric current to stimulate the points and speed up the process.  I am not a newcomer to passing electric currents through my body as I had that done for my sciatica years ago.

I cannot wait for the day when I can walk pain free.....

Visit to a NZ sheep farm

Jo-Ann with Mower the Mohair goat with some sheep in the background

Our friend, Winnie, with the mother sheep and 2 day old lamb

In between our competitions we had some free time where we went to a sheep farm as my daughter has never been to a real farm in her young life so I thought it would be a good experience!

She decided after the visit that she does not like farm life as she was all squeamish at the amount of mud, poohs and some dirty animals (after a full rainy day before!) in a farm.  The only spark in that visit was "Mower" the Mohair goat they had!  She was tied up but she hated Murphy the town dog who was there on a short holiday while his 'mum and dad' are off on a vacation.  Mower kept chasing after Murphy each time he passed in front of her so that was really hilarious as Murphy was so hyper jumping into the pond and out despite the cold water.  The 2 black swans in the pond just ignored Murphy while the white duck was more cautious.  

I also learnt that a lot of farmers are switching to dairy farms due to the high price of diary products where each cow is worth about $2000.  However, the sheep farmers do not like the diary farmers as apparently the diary farms are polluting the rivers with their discharge.  Diary farms are more work because of the twice daily milking that needs to be done but the returns are high with the current milk prices.

It is nice to be in Southland as the people are generally friendlier and that was what struck the Aucklanders the most about how life is more relaxed and people are not stressed or in a hurry to get anything done!  The small town of Gore welcomed the 500 odd people who visited Gore during the Figure Skating Nationals as all the visitors are always hungry and in search of food all the time!  The small town does have Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pizza Hut but too small to have a MacDonald's.  I think the nearest big M is in Invercargill about 45 minutes drive away.

NZ Figure Skating Naitonals

We have just returned from my daughter's NZ Figure Skating Nationals in a little southern town called Gore, famous for its country music and brown trout.

It is amazing how the standards keep improving every year so the competition gets tougher and tougher.  It is also nice to catch up with skaters from the North Island whom we see once a year at the nationals.  My girl came in 5th in her grade but she still maintained her position as the top skater from the south.

This is the first time that we have professional sports photographers taking photos so I purchased my daughter's and it is good to see her shots and she can also see her actual posture and if they meet the standards.....

Pick Pockets

I just received upsetting news about my 80 year old father.  He was out doing marketing with my mother at this Sunday wet and fresh market in Kuching when someone bumped into him and picked his wallet.  The inconvenience for him was not only that he lost a substantial amount of cash but he also lost his driving license and his identity card.  

What is the world coming to?  I mean why pick on the elderly???  They are not rich and they are barely getting by with their small pensions but some ruthless individuals or group of people just prey on the elderly instead of working for their own living!  It is really disgusting and very worrying about what society is becoming nowadays!!!

Common Sense

A friend of mine sent me this article which is SO TRUE!!!

Date: Aug 27, 2008 10:08

Subject:  Obituary of the late Mr. Common Sense

(Interesting and sadly true)

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years.  No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.  He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as: Knowing when to come in out of the rain; why the early bird gets the worm; Life isn't always fair; and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place.  Reports of a 6 year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an Aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realise that a steaming cup of coffee was hot.  She spilled a little on her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason.  He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, I Want It Now, Someone Else Is To Blame, and I'm A Victim.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realised he was gone.  If you still remember him, pass this on.  If not, join the majority and do nothing.

Noro Virus

Noro virus

courtesy of www.dbtechno.com

For the past month or so Dunedin has been struck by suspected Noro virus where you get diarrhea and also vomiting.  Today I tried to visit a friend whose baby is in the children's ward but was turned away from the hospital with a sudden lock down at the hospital.  Yesterday, I was still able to visit her and her baby but we had to gel our hands before going up into the wards as well as on the way out.

All schools are affected by the outbreak with an average of 100 - 150 students away from our school for the past 2 weeks and teachers are out too with some sort of illness.  My daughter and I are hoping that we will survive through this very very long winter which started in as early as April and still snowing here and there now even though we are supposed to start our spring in September!  The cherry blossoms are out but the weather in Dunedin still hovers around 10 deg Celsius during the day and drops below 5 deg at night.  

It has also been very wet in the past 2 -3 weeks.  Two Saturdays ago, I went to the laundrette for my usual Saturday drying loads but was I surprised to see the long queue!  My usual 40 minutes to dry our clothes was not even enough wait time!  And people were getting grumpy if you used more than one drier!  One man mentioned that it was worst than watching paint dry!  I think I spent close to 3 hours there just to dry 2 loads of laundry!!!  What a waste of time but I had to dry my daughter's school uniform so had no choice!  Luckily, today it was almost empty when I got there at my usual time.

I wonder how long this winter is going to be.....  The only good thing now is that petrol price has come down to just $2 for 91 octane despite the lower oil price.  However, the economist are telling us that the price is not coming down as fast as the Kiwi dollar is weakening against other currencies......Oh well.....