Getting some idea about 2016...

Finally met with my boss so now I know what I'm going to be doing next year, when my new teaching contract kicks in. I've been asked to do evaluations for a particular course that's currently running for the first time (which gives students an IT, ESOL and numeracy qualification) and then take over teaching the ESOL part of it when the next cohort starts after February half-term, right through to late July by the time we've done exams. It's only a little more in terms of hours than I was teaching last year, but it is the next level up from what I was teaching last academic year so that's another new curriculum and new things to figure out how to teach!

Anyway, in terms of my interview apparently there were a bunch of folks who didn't score as highly as I did despite being more experienced/qualified. Likewise the teacher I'm taking over from had never actually had an interview before and since this is a course specifically for jobseekers, that was one of the reasons I've been asked to take it over - the other was that my manager wanted someone with 'a bit more spark' (which doesn't surprise me, since the teacher I'm taking over from always reminds me of Eeyore).

Anyway, the way it's going to work next year is that I should be able to do a week's invigilation for the university before I start with this job, so that'll help out in terms of money. I'm currently temping 5 mornings a week which is a bit tedious but helps immensely in terms of regular income as I continue to figure out how much the tax office are going to give me back in the new financial year. ;)

If I'm going to get to London, it's going to have to be the first week in January, which is always risky in terms of weather, as the Celts exhibition ends that month. I've discovered I will in fact only be teaching 3 days a week, not 5, so that's a little less traumatic in terms of organising my life although my only opportunities for a block of time off will now be the same as school terms, which is not so good for getting anywhere cheap. That's not so much of an issue this year, but in 2017 I really wanted to go to Finland for a couple of weeks before WorldCon, which is the first full weekend in August so that's going to take a little bit of organising once I know what next academic year's timetable brings.

I'm going to do a separate post for books, since I've read some absolute crackers since the last book-related post back in June and possibly a TV post too over the next few days - currently really enjoying Jessica Jones (though I'm only 2 episodes in so far) and hoping it continues to be this good all the way through!