Wednesday the woeful!

Pretty stressed out at the mo!

Two weeks to go until the big house music festival and worried that the kids aren't quite ready.....they will be I am sure!

Correction pretty much all up to date so that is awesome!

On the way to work realised that the venue that I use for my lunchtime choir rehearsal was being used by a big shindig that the school was organised and I had not been given a new space......

Thinking through my way of tackling this issue - principal sees me and informs me that we have been burgled AGAIN! Music office seems to be an easy target. Again the computer has been taken! but this time they took the external hard drive and this had the music departments data base!!!! We teach over 600 kids in that space. Each of those kids have their own teacher (16 teachers come in!), belong to one of the 20+ ensembles and may hire an instrument which they may have paid for.........

On top of this the rolls are marked on this every day which can be accessed by the general office for the whole school roll marking......we have no data base therefore we can't mark any electronic rolls!

Then the entire music library is catalogued! Over 4000 items.

We have lost everything!

We can put most of it back together but it will take time. My co-leader spent the entire day entering information onto another version of the program. He looked and looked over the computer in his studio and found a backed up version of the library which is about 6 months old........phew!

He is exhausted at the moment having had to do that. Tomorrow afternoon I will be picking up where he left off!

Now we have to fortify our working space. I think this will mean bars on windows, new doors everywhere and we will have to have new locks everywhere!

We had a new computer put in - but the other co leader and I took this away and stored it somewhere that it can't be seen from the outside! I then put microphones and recording equipment elsewhere and then put that key into another space! This is ridiculous!

Some time early last year we were burgled. Same idea - office computer taken. A week later, after putting in a laptop, we had another burglary. This time the laptop taken. Neither time was the external hard drive removed...........

Then we were told that we were making too much noise for the shindig........a bit hard when you are African drumming.......so we moved to another space....then we were too noisy for the other classes - instrumental teachers couldn't concentrate.......so we moved again! Ok, so that was not all in one hit - one teacher was asked to do quiet drumming.......I got moved away from near the instrumental teachers space.....but it seems much better if I whinge all at once on this issue!

Everything else is as I stated......except there are some things that I won't mention. Always is though!

the tale of two dealerships

Yesterday I discovered that Transponder chips are mighty small but mighty powerful.

Today I discovered that the dealerships of my breed of car don't agree on how to fix the transponder chip issue.

I rang the closest dealership to my house and was transferred to the service department. I explained the situation to the man at the other end and he then informed me that I would have to purchase a new key blade which would have the transformer attached. Huh?

I looked at the key bits in front of me. I had a blade and a push button bit........I asked the man what I should be looking for. He told me that I would need to get the blade with a U-shaped attachment which would have the transponder on the inside.

I told him that I had never seen this before when the key had come apart. He said probably means that you haven't had it there for a fair while.

How have I been driving without it? I dunno but the chip is attached to the blade.

I then tried to explain that I had seen the chip part in the push-button bit. When? A while ago, but it was in the push-button bit.

I don't think so.....

He continued on with this line but something sounded weird in his description. Once I had got the blade I would have to get the key cut from my key blade which I had already.

Where would this happen? At a locksmith.

Any locksmith? Oh sure any.

Can you do it? Oh - it will take a few days for us to do it and we're flat out at the moment...... If he did it he would have to go the locksmith about 15 minutes away......the closest one down the street obviously couldn't do it.

So when can I do this? Next Tuesday would be good but you'll have to be quick.

I hung up and thought about this.

4 hours later I was driving home from work and thought I might drop into another dealership. I went to the parts section and laid out the bits and explained to the man what I needed. He looked it up and got the part - just like that. I also got a new battery.

He then directed me to the service department so that I could get the chip locked into my cars computer system. I had a chuckle at the efficiency and told him what the other dealership told me.

He looked at me and asked if I was serious. Yep. He shook his head and walked away. I went to the service department.

I am booked in for.........Tuesday. Afternoon.......

All up it has cost me about $90. A new key - apparently that would be closer to $200.

tweet tweet

The PD yesterday was ok. I don't think it was worth the 2 hours drive there and the 2 hours drive back of which 1 hour each was was in peak hour traffic. My back particularly doesn't think it was worth all of that effort. I worked it out. I spent about 11 hours sitting yesterday. Not happy!

So, what did I learn? I learnt that the group running the PD have a major political position that they are trying very hard to push. In fact, they set up their own music association to do so. The whole day there seemed to be some sort of need to prove how good each of the people presenting were. There was a great deal of ego brushing. Very frustrating.

But I did hear a few good things and I also realised that my school is doing quite well in the musical field. I also learnt a lot about the thinking of my boss. I also had a quiet word about the load that I have. He thinks that I asked for the load that I have. I did ask for junior and senior classes but, as I pointed out, I was not expecting to have the sheer number of classes that I have been fortunate to get. I don't think it made any real impact but there you have it.

On other news, I have purchased a new printer. I have found that I really would like to have my own printer at home so I can print out my work sheets here and then take them to work and photocopy them. I can have the file ready to go and just pop them into the machine on my way through. This printer can also print onto CDs which excites me no end.

I have just made a batch of ANZAC biscuits and had to eat the burnt bottom ones......they don't count do they?

I have also stocked the shelves JUST IN CASE we are told to stay home. I have more food here than I have had in yonks. I don't think we will be but better to be prepared.

I have also been playing on Twitter. I am being followed by a few people that makes me laugh. Andrew O'Keefe (only Australians will know the host of 'Deal or No Deal') and Kevin Rudd. Well I decided to follow Kevin and he's following back. I was just hanging out there on the twitter site and went looking to see who is there.......I don't think Kevin will be that excited by my updates...."waiting for the piano tuner" etc.

Others that I am following include Oprah - just coz! and Hugh Jackman. He has thanked everyone for the nice comments about his film Wolverine. Also he is going to be on Oprah this Friday - although here in Australia we might have to wait a fair bit longer.

Re reading the above I realise I sound like a twat. I also realise that I have started rambling again.

Right! Off to correction...woo hoo!