Wednesday 9th September, 2015                0200

Yes, late night/early morning again but I don’t have a class until 1400 and either the school internet failed shortly before midnight (I hope that is the case) or my computer/router is/are buggered. Doubtless I will find out later today when the IT people come to work. I did think it might be because I use Google Chrome and the Politburo don’t like Google but Internet Explorer doesn’t work either. The thought crossed my mind that we had reverted to logging in every day, hence trying IE but something else is wrong I think. At least, it had better be because I can’t afford to buy a new computer.

So Monday saw the first day of this academic year, old hat to me now but a struggle given that most mornings of late I have set my alarm for ten o’clock or not at all. The waking up wasn’t the problem, it was the falling asleep at a sensible time - I simply couldn’t do it.

I struggled through regardless as I always do though and later, predictably I did my local shop and went to the office for a couple of beers.

Juliette meanwhile faced her first ever terrifying class at four. My heart was with her because she is a mere stripling with none of the experience of years, although I suspect beneath that innocent exterior there does indeed lie some bravado. She admitted to nerves but told me later that in spite of her fears it was nowhere near as bad as she expected. There is not a shadow of doubt in  my mind that her beauty saved her from any of the smart-alec tricks students try (just the once!) with me on the first encounter. I was pleased for her, for those who have never stood in front of a classroom of young adults be assured  it can be a very daunting experience the first time.

Later that evening I made another bread pudding. Last time I used too much sugar and spice (for me anyway) so this time I used what I should have and added an extra egg. Only this time  I used twice as much bread. I never used enough sugar OR spice! I will get it right if it kills me.

Andrei on the other hand had made what he termed a “pork, cauliflower and broccoli soup” and had saved some for me. If I am honest, it didn’t sound like any soup I have ever heard of but then he is Romanian. Well when they brought it down in the saucepan it was quite apparent it wasn’t a soup. It was a stew.

That presented me with a problem. Joan was coming for dinner and I had defrosted Bolognese otherwise I could easily have boiled some potatoes (if I had any) and made a meal from the so-called “soup”. I don’t eat much at the best of times and so only had a spoonful to taste it before serving the rest to Joan, who in fairness confessed she was hungry.

Well she polished off the lot except for the skin and bones on the pork pieces and was then stunned to learn I was about to cook the spaghetti. The leftovers of my cooking from before were easily enough to feed three but sadly though we both did our best, half of it will be flushed down the toilet later today when I get around to washing the dishes.

As for the bread pudding, it was OK but not perfect, half going to Andrei and Juliette and the remainder Joan took to share with her roommates.

Today I had one class and finished at noon. I wanted to go to town so once done, I rode the bike, saw hordes of students clambering on the 29 bus and immediately rode to the terminus up the road where I was the first to get on the next bus, as per plan B. My plan is pure genius. Except when we got to the school pick-up there were but six students waiting to board! I could have stayed where I normally do. I am sure the ruse will be useful in the future though and the driver on the return trip, knowing of course I teach at the university, was nonplussed when I never got off and carried on to the end. He gave me a huge thumbs up when he got off his bus for a smoke and realised what I had done!

While I was out shopping however, I was advised of a job transcribing an audio file of some seven hours duration - how much and when could I do it? No bleeding idea, wait until I get home in a couple of hours. Well I couldn’t play the audio after downloading so they said download QQ video player. That wouldn’t play it either so I thought stuff this for a game of soldiers, I’m off to the office for my customary couple of bottles. Andrei and Juliette joined me after a while.

Andrei advised me to download Winamp to play the file (that didn’t work either and it won’t be long before my laptop screen is filled with icons!) and Juliette told me her class this morning had been the same as my first ever class. In mine I had been given the wrong book and prepared a lesson I have never given to this day. She though is 23 but thankfully she had not only taught the same class on Monday (a different subject) and so knew them, but had also been regaled by my telling of my own experience and so she wasn’t phased and simply did what I did and borrowed a book from a student. As for me, I am still trying to get the correct book for my business classes, my co-teacher having thus far managed to provide me with two incorrect books. In fact he has suggested I teach the students from one of them as it is a newer book! Well yes of course I can teach from any book they give me but it is ludicrous to issue the students with different ones, how the hell are they going to perform the dialogues in MY book when theirs are completely different? I will see the secretary later to find out why it is being said there are no such books when a hundred of my students have been provided with them. Surely there must be just one left for little old me?

Anyway I got back this evening and downloaded Winamp at very low speed and whilst that was taking place the translation firm emailed to say not to bother because the client had disagreed with them and they no longer had the job! This being China it could either be true or they simply found someone else who could play the file, who knows?

However, there was an urgent clean up to be done by nine this morning, could I please do it before anything else. All thoughts of cooking evaporated (my food today ended up being cream cheese on toast, very healthy) and so I did it straight away. In view of the complete loss of internet access just before midnight I am so glad I also completed the other two jobs which I had until Friday morning to do. All three concerned infant mortality studies with heart defects at birth. I am not sure I will ever be able to inure myself to reading a simple statistic such as “12 died (8.9% of the sample group) prior to one year”. Unless they give me anything else I am free to have McBreakfast on Friday and at the weekend.  

2020

Yes it was the entire campus but of course I couldn’t send the above anywhere even when I finally hit the sack at about four.

I got up just after eleven, absolutely shattered as seems to be the norm for me lately, and internet access was restored after a router reboot. After my class I went to see the secretary and I am guessing my co-teacher had already been, for the correct business book was immediately produced.

I had my customary two bottles in the office but just as I was about to leave two vagrants (Andrei & Juliette) popped in. it would be rude to refuse a drink so I was delayed a little. Mulan had been to my home at lunchtime and put her bedding in the washing machine and later when I was teaching sent me a message asking me to hang the stuff out to dry as she needed them tonight. She has rented a place off campus and I assume she only has one set of bed sheets and blankets at present.

Well I sent back that I would do it when I got home , which turned out to be about five-forty. Just as I opened the balcony windows to throw one of her blankets over the drying rails she appeared on her e-bike! I never got to hang anything out because she was going to her new home (hope the stuff dries before bedtime) because one of her brothers is there and his train to school leaves at midnight. If the dopey beggar had come twenty minutes earlier to start the wash and told me I could have had it dry because the machine would have finished before I left.

I had better post this now, Joan will be here shortly to take a shower and we will have dinner. I gave her the choice of shop-bought pizza or spaghetti or beans on toast. To my surprise she chose beans on toast. That will do for me.