In Sweden, we call it a 'kick'.

gaffsie — Wed, 01 Mar 2017 20:12:44 GMT

Guess who broke her arm and is home on sick leave for at least four weeks?

This moi.

Not all parents are assholes.

gaffsie — Sat, 04 Feb 2017 14:18:02 GMT

Guess what happened yesterday!

I'd just finished the last lesson for the week, and the kids were filing out. I was just helping some stragglers with their questions when a parent came into the classroom. She'd bought me some tulips, because she felt that she'd been "an irritating" parent all week because of all the emails she'd sent me about her concerns for her son. Isn't that just the sweetest thing?

gaffsie — Sun, 29 Jan 2017 12:30:44 GMT

If you don't mind gruesome murders, I have a rec for you! Midnattssol is Swedish/French crime drama that takes place in my home town. It's pretty dark, but I really enjoyed it. Most of the dialogue is in English, but there is also a lot of Swedish, French, and even Samí spoken.

Although, just as an fyi, in reality the Kiruna police still have their old offices. They are not housed in a school. Because that would be completely bonkers.

gaffsie — Thu, 26 Jan 2017 17:34:04 GMT

I actually had a parent barge into my classroom today and rage and swear at both the kids and I. One kid started crying.

What. An. Asshole.

gaffsie — Fri, 13 Jan 2017 14:13:40 GMT

I fear I've begun to grow fond of my students. Today one told me that he was moving, and I actually meant it when I said that I would miss him.

Apparently time + exposure = affection

Excitement!

gaffsie — Sun, 08 Jan 2017 14:31:23 GMT

We went to Narvik yesterday. We were just gonna shop a little, have dinner, and be back home in time for bedtime.

Unfortunately, the weather had other plans. First we had to wait for one hour at the border for the plow car to return from Norway so we and 20 other assorted cars and trucks could follow it like lost little ducklings through the mountain pass, which was a warning sign in itself, because it wasn't like the weather would *improve* come night-time. Then, naturally, the road closed entirely.

Long story short, we ended up having to stay in a hotel in Narvik overnight. At least it beat option two, which was to head north and try the other border crossing, a trip that would have taken 6 hours.

Christmas Mass

gaffsie — Sun, 25 Dec 2016 08:01:28 GMT

I thought it was kind of sweet how the minister talked about Superman and Harry Potter in her sermon. She even mentioned Superman’s Jewish roots! She was trying to compare Jesus to them in their respective roles as superheroes. I thought the comparison was a little forced, but hey, she gets points for trying.

The choir was a lot better than last year. Apparently they've gotten a couple more altos to join.

Yes. Very helpful. Thank you ever so much. JUST WHAT I WANTED.

gaffsie — Wed, 30 Nov 2016 16:22:58 GMT

I come home from work and running errands, and grandma is putting groceries in the fridge.

"I bought ground beef!" She said, happy as a a clam. "Since you have to go to a seminar at 6 and I have choir practice at 6.30, I thought we'd just eat some simple ground beef patties!"

I run up and put down my own bags, and go into the kitchen and she says, like it's a fucking huge BOON, "You can make as many patties as you like!"

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

That was just what I wanted after having been away since 6.30 this morning, to come home at 4.30 and hear that the one hour of time I thought I'd have to myself today, I'll have to spend making fucking beef patties.

And when I start making the fucking things, visually annoyed, BECAUSE FUCK ME FOR NOT WANTING TO COOK RIGHT NOW, she has the fucking gall to say "they don't have to be anything fancy, just use onions and salt and pepper."

Like using some god-damn seasoning is what takes time. But no, just tell me to make a kilo of bland and tasteless beef patties. That is sure to save me a valuable 30 seconds.

This is the kind of thing that irritates me about grandma. She pretends like she's not, but she's awfully presumptuous.

gaffsie — Mon, 28 Nov 2016 18:49:08 GMT

I should have known this day wouldn't be going my way when I somehow forgot to put on a bra this morning and didn't notice until I was bounding up the steps at work.

Winter.

gaffsie — Sat, 19 Nov 2016 12:05:18 GMT

Part of me doesn't really mind the snow. At least it forced me to spend 1 hour outside doing physical labour today. Considering how little I work out, and how few hours of sunlight we get here each day this time of year, that's undoubtedly a good thing!

Lady issues.

gaffsie — Sun, 13 Nov 2016 09:36:37 GMT

I had a terrible pain in my stomach last weekend. It got infinitely worse whenever I moved around, but when I was lying down I could almost forget about it. I thought I was getting sick, but now I have a bad feeling it might have been my ovaries.

I didn't use to experience any discomfort during ovulation before, but in the last year, I've started to develop some cramps during that time of the month. Now I'm worried this might be the next step. My mom apparently also got worse cramps during ovulation as she got older. :/

As if menstruation itself wasn't painful enough, but at least that isn't debilitating the way last Saturday's pain was. If it feels this bad next month, I'm making a doctor appointment, because I can't be bed-bound one day every month.

In the meantime, I'm crossing my fingers that it was a weird combination of ovulation and food poisoning or something!

gaffsie — Tue, 08 Nov 2016 16:39:34 GMT

I work with 8- and 9-year olds, and today I had to reassure them that Donald Trump probably isn't going to be the next American president, and that even if he somehow does end up winning he'll have advisers who'll keep him from starting World War 3.

It's a real concern with children. They pick up on this stuff from their parents, and people are worried (and rightly so) what that mad man would do if he was in charge of the most powerful country on earth.

Clearly, I'm sophisticated as hell.

gaffsie — Sat, 15 Oct 2016 11:18:26 GMT

Me comparing two different red wines:

"Hmm, this first sample tastes sour and gross."

"Hmm, this second sample tastes sour and gross, and it also has an aftertaste with a hint of something unpleasant."

(full disclosure, though I'm not a big wine fan, I don't hate it either. These two bottles were just really gross.)

Aaaany day now.

gaffsie — Tue, 11 Oct 2016 18:13:27 GMT

It was -8C when I drove to work this morning, but I've got my winter tires on, so at least I'm ready for the inevitable October snowfall when it comes.

gaffsie — Sat, 08 Oct 2016 14:12:13 GMT

Non-alcoholic wine, or, the wine gaffsie buys because she's just using it for cooking anyway, and going to Systembolaget takes too much effort.

I don't have a car/but I have a driver/and that's a start

gaffsie — Sun, 02 Oct 2016 16:57:48 GMT

I don't have an apartment, but now I own a sofa, a chair, and a footstool. Oops?

My mom will use them for now (she needed a new couch anyway), so it's not as big a waste of money as you'd think. Plus, they were a fucking steal at half price, and I fell in love with them at first sight. Ironically, I used my last paycheck from IKEA to pay for them. :D

Just teacher things!

gaffsie — Thu, 22 Sep 2016 14:22:38 GMT

~*~ When that one third-grader (you know, that one) has a loose tooth, and proceeds to pull it out and then paint his face with the blood. ~*~

*insert cutesy image macro here*

???

gaffsie — Sat, 10 Sep 2016 18:15:34 GMT

I'm trying to do some grading, but that's hard to do when this is what I have to work with:

Children are delightful creatures.

gaffsie — Tue, 06 Sep 2016 17:09:21 GMT

We had a field day for the whole school today. I ended up having to place three different phone calls to various parents once we were back.

It's extraordinary how they know all the rules and regulations by heart when asked, but when push comes to shove they just do whatever the fuck they want anyway.

Who needs a dentist anyway?

gaffsie — Thu, 01 Sep 2016 12:46:49 GMT

It's been a while *cough*ten years*cough* since I've been to the dentist, and I've finally decided to do something about it.

I looked up the number for the municipal dentist, the cost and the opening hours, and cheerfully rang them up.

The lady who answered the phone was very pleasant and professional when she helpfully informed me that the waiting list for a standard check-up in this town is 5 years

gaffsie — Wed, 31 Aug 2016 15:49:51 GMT

I had to go clothes shopping today. I'm a bit of a couch potato, so I don't own much in the way of year-round active wear, and now that I'm a class teacher I'm required to spend time *gasp* outside with the kids! And sometimes for *gasp* a whole day!

Today I decided to take the bull by the horns, and stopped by a sporting goods store on my way home from work. I was dreading the expense, because "function" materials tend to cost an arm and a leg. Luck was on my side though, because there was a sale, and in the end I came home with a great winter jacket, a pair of Gore-Tex pants, a rain jacket and a fleece for 2600SKR ($303). To put that in perspective, the pants alone originally retailed for 3200SKR...

On the down side, the pants are bright orange, but for that kind of saving I'm willing to go with it.

This might be TMI, but on a very benign level.

gaffsie — Tue, 23 Aug 2016 15:19:49 GMT

I mail-ordered a vibrator last week, and today I got it in the mail. I felt strangely proud while I was placing the order. My very first sex toy; gaffsie is truly an adult woman now!

Now though, I feel a bit torn. Because, on some level, I'm fully aware that behind every box of merchandise I order, there's a human being who's put it all together. However, there's being vaguely cognisant of that fact, and then there's receiving your very own sex toy box with a note saying "Packaged with care by," and signed by hand by someone named Adelfia. /o\

Note to self: Don't ever attempt to make spirulina muffins again.

gaffsie — Wed, 17 Aug 2016 19:03:03 GMT

No amount of health benefits are worth that kind of suffering. BLECH.

Shit just got real.

gaffsie — Tue, 16 Aug 2016 18:07:58 GMT

I've even been provided with my very own teacher's calender.

It's so sad going through old fandom archives.

gaffsie — Thu, 28 Jul 2016 14:48:33 GMT

So many deleted accounts and disappeared domains. :(