Categories
Random thoughts teaching Work

36/52 On what affects our reputation the most

What we do is who we are, I think.

I teach school students… but I am not just a teacher. In my hours spent not in front of my students or with my colleagues, or planning or assessing, in my hours interacting with family and friends, who am I?

I am the person who thinks a certain way, who values particular things, and from these thoughts and beliefs, makes decisions and acts (or refrains from acting) on and in the world around me.

What I do reflects what I value; what I think.

The thinking comes first.

I think, therefore I am.

Our thoughts are pre-eminent. And yet: how often do we acknowledge them? When they are so influential on what we do and who we’ll become in the future?

I saw this the other day, and it’s left me quite reflective:

Here’s hoping my thoughts on the matter (Ha! See what I did there?) are of some value to you today, dear Reader 🙂

– KRidwyn

Categories
#Springinyourstep momentous events teaching

35/52 Made it!

I wasn’t sure if I could… but Praise God who sustained me to reach this (school holiday) season!!!

Have a wonderful week, dear Reader!

– KRidwyn

Categories
teaching Technology

34/52 Snowed under

This post (or lack thereof, to tell the truth) is being brought to you by my marking load, which is currently threatening to overwhelm me 🙁

Reporting is due tomorrow.

Sigh. Who’d be an English teacher, huh? Lol

See you next week, dear Reader!

– KRidwyn

Categories
Life momentous events places to visit

33/52 Sunrise beach walk on the first day of Spring

 

Happy New (seasonal) Year, dear Reader!

I hope today and the rest of the year, right through to the last day of Winter, 2025, are wonderful for you!

– KRidwyn

Categories
family anecdotes Technology Writing

32/52 wait, what?

A conversation with my Miss19 the other day, about ‘why is the word “gnome” spelled with a silent “g” instead of a silent “k”?’ led to a quick Google search on ‘words that start with gn’.

I’d never have guessed these would be the search results!

Have an amusing week yourself, dear Reader!

– KRidwyn

Categories
Life

31/52 Me, after this week…

It’s been a doozy of a week. So this resonated with me a lot:

As did this:

Self-care is important, people!

Please, be kind to yourself today and this week, okay?

– KRidwyn

Categories
momentous events Random thoughts

30/52 Surprised and Inspired!

I watched the musical Gigi yesterday afternoon with my eldest daughter, something we hadn’t done in years.

After the expected discussion regarding morality and her appreciation that society is no longer like that, she asked if Leslie Caron was still alive. I doubted she would be, but picked up my phone to check… and was SO surprised not only to realise that yes, she was in fact, alive and well at 93 years old, but also, still working (well, she played ‘Pauline’ in “Written on the Water” in 2020)!

How incredible is that! SO impressive.

So inspirational.

And on that note, I need to go and better myself, or something 😛

Have an inspirational week yourself, dear Reader!

  • KRidwyn
Categories
Random thoughts

29/52 Things I’m grateful for :)

New starts. The fact that I awoke this morning with a wealth of opportunities to enjoy and spend my time on.

The warmth of the sun on my back in spite of the chill in my toes (within  of just socks but also ugg boots – have I mentioned before how much I don’t enjoy the cold?) and the fact that our house was warmed by a fire last night.

I’m listening to my daughters (aged 19 and 16) voluntarily spending time together, talking and playing with Kiya now we’re home after church.

My house is not clean. The list of ‘stuff I should be doing’ is huge. But I am happy. Even with the hedge clippings that my eldest daughter shook off her clothing, yesterday, in the sunroom, which still litter the floor near my feet.

These clippings mean the mock orange hedge beneath my bedroom windows is now looking amazing, and through my daughter’s – and not my – efforts. They’re glossy green, meaning the plants are healthy and have enough water in spite of the lack of rainfall here in this part of Queensland. Again, through no effort of mine. That’s a God thing.

My part to play in all this? Enjoyment. That’s it. (And pick up the leaves in the sunroom.)

What an amazing blessing that is!

Have an amazing week yourself, dear Reader!

– KRidwyn

Categories
Random thoughts teaching Work

28/52 On the return to Term 3

Phew! What a week it’s been!

Yesterday morning, I drove Kiya, with Mum and her dog Trav, down to Brisbane for an appointment. It occurred to me that last Saturday morning (7 days earlier) I had also collected Mum… but instead, to go car shopping. We’d visited a quite rusty Suzuki Jimny, locally, before heading down to Brisbane to look at a 2020 version – which sold en route. We then pulled into Suzuki at Nundah, and ended up buying a brand new Ignis, before stopping at CostCo on the way back up the Coast.

This week was

  • the return to school (that’s right, I have a 0.9FTE teaching job as well)
  • the collection of Mum’s car on Wednesday
  • Miss 16’s trip to QldTransport to have her photo taken for her Learners
  • the (hopefully successful) migration of this website from one host to another
  • Miss 19 job-hunting and speaking with prospective employers, and finally
  • yet another big trip yesterday.

Today, I’m playing violin at church, then spending the afternoon with my parents and godfathers who are visiting from NZ.

Phew! again…

Hope it’s been a productive week for you, too, dear Reader!

  • KRidwyn
Categories
Random thoughts Work

27/52 On habit creation

So June ended, and with it, the challenge to publish a daily blogpost for #blogJune.

And it took a number of days before I stopped thinking ‘oh! I haven’t posted yet… and this’d make a good post!’ so… I guess that means I’d created myself a daily blogging habit?!

But it’s definitely July now, the first Sunday of, so it’s time to resume my Sunday blogging schedule. And today marks 27 of the 52 posts I had set myself back in January 🙂

So keeping with the topic of ‘habits help you to get things done’ I just wanted to post this photo right here:

That’s right. For a mere $25K you could own your own barrel organ. How cool is THAT?!! (Ooh! I’ve never seen one of these intact before, as Nemo’s teacher would have said)

Seriously though: it’s incredible to think of the dedication that the creation of this instrument must have taken. Not only the mechanics of making the instrument actually work, but also the incredible craftsmanship in the painstaking attention to detail in the instrument’s decorations! A true work of art.

And such incredible-ness can ONLY happen through habit-creation. The dedication of doing small amounts consistently, day by day by day by day by day.

Without this, the instrument wouldn’t exist.

And this day by day process is not just for weeks, nor months, but YEARS.

Inspirational dedication, that. An aspirational habit.

And with that thought, I’m off to go be productive for the rest of my day.

Have a great week, dear Reader, and I’ll see you next Sunday!

– KRidwyn