Well, that’s that. For now, at least. I’ve reached the end of my penultimate half-term at the school I’m working at and the deputy head came in to thank me for doing a “great job” with the class I’m lumbered with. She also apologised for me not having the support I should really have as a new primary teacher, and for the “challenging… to say the least” behaviour of the pupils. Jane pointed out to me tonight that however bad it feels to you when you’re in the middle of a bad situation, other people inevitably think you’re doing a better job than you think you are. She put it better than I did, but it’s late and I’m tired. She’s probably right – it’s just hard to remember that sometimes.

So, what now? I have a week to burn. It will probably go by much too quickly, but here are some of the things I intend to get done:

• Do some writing – both on here, on BitMob and possibly a return to Helium, an interesting site for aspiring writers.
• Do some music – I have the piano scores for the Persona 3/Trinity Soul and Persona 4 soundtracks, so I may try and record those. They’re easy-ish arrangements so shouldn’t take too long.
• Play some Mass Effect 2 – I love what I’ve played so far, but have only really had the chance to play in short bursts with distractions recently. I’ll hopefully have the opportunity to spend a bit more time in the company of Commander Shepard and company.
• Play some Star Trek Online – I reached Lieutenant Commander level last week, which meant I got the chance to pick up a brand new ship. I went for a Science vessel which looks a bit like Voyager and is named the U.S.S. Penetrator, after the Syreen vessels in Star Control II. (My character is a Syreen, thanks to the excellent character editor allowing the production of blue-skinned Amazonian women – albeit ones in Starfleet uniforms – as player characters)
• Play through Machinarium for the Squadron of Shame. I know next to nothing about this game, and am looking forward to trying it.
• Go fiddle with Gowalla and Foursquare some more – I really dig these apps and find them an interesting idea. They’re a good reason to go out and just explore the area around you. Foursquare finally works properly in the UK, but I’ve been using Gowalla for a while now so have gained a bit of “loyalty” for it. I’m interested to see what – if anything – Foursquare offers over and above Gowalla.
• Wander into the forest and take some more photos – I enjoyed my wander around the deserted New Forest landscape the other day. I want to find a more “wooded” bit though – despite being technically “in the forest”, the part I went to didn’t have much in the way of trees.
• Have a coffee and a catch-up with some ex-workmates.
• Remind Jane regularly that she has an essay to write. (Yes, it’s still there. Get off here and get on with it.)

That’s my plan, then. It seems like a sound one to me.