h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Well the beginning of the week was a blur due to second-years being back and demanding almost daily coaching for the oral examinations, which is no burden since they are delightful and I'll miss them and they'll miss me. They are on tenterhooks, waiting for the results of their written tests and touching in their anguish. Some of them are so good : I hope they get the recognition they deserve.

Meanwhile the first-years still produce an uninterrupted series of papers for me to mark. This is the first vicious circle of my life: I have got to keep the pressure on otherwise they will not learn enough. And this means tests, yesterday's was 125 grammar questions on all the points they had studied before. But I have to mark them now or I lose their trust forever. So I always end up with the piles of papers.

Another vicious circle in my life these days is that I have to work late, so even with my medication I find it hard to overcome the restless legs syndrome, and have to get up in a state of exhaustion and do various exercises. The less I sleep, the more acute the symptoms. But if I go to bed at 8pm then no work gets done. And I wake up faithfully at 2 with my symptoms.

Come to me soothing sleep and with thee bring forgetfulness and dreams...

Still today is granddaughter's day so frolics in the park, races, dancing, cuddling and this vaguely human shape sleeping it off in the carriage of the RER tonight will be me on the way home.

Oops, I didn't realise you had grandchildren, Martine . My suggestion about taking your _children_ to see where Harry Potter was filmed must have struck you as really ... odd.

Can't you get someone to computerise your tests so that you don't have to mark them on paper? So the students take the test at computer, and are scored automatically? For grammar papers, hand-marking them must be unnecessarily time-consuming.

martine,

I only wish I had some useful advice to help with the sleeping problem but sadly I don't. I do think you should put yourself first and break out of the vicious circle at times though. I know that you care very much about your pupils but they will also benefit if their teacher is less stressed.

How about not setting tests for just one day and give yourself a night off.

Polly

Get thee behind me Satan.

I have to hold the line until next Thursday. After that, it will be much less stressful. Until September.

The discomfort and anguish of insomnia are like those of childbirth, you tend to more or less forget how awful it is. And it's not work-induced, I get the same problem in the summer when we go hiking, which means that I have to set out in the morning quite unrefreshed by any night slumbers. I snap at poor O/H who has the ability to go to sleep for five minutes and wake up with all his wits about him.

Champagne used to send me off. No longer. The more I drink, the less I sleep. How I envy all those young whipper-snappers like Douglas and Peet and Dagesh who seem able to both drink and sleep.

Well, soon she'll be old enough to be dragged to museums. For the moment she's quite happy with taking the tube, crossing the river and getting on any kind of choo-choo.
I brought her new sandals and a new sun hat today, which she immediately put on, what dress sense for someone still under three! We had a marvellous time on the merry-go-round, feeeding the goats and splashing Mamie.

Oh Martine, I've just been posting in the Village Hall (the otherwise thread) about my current insomnia.. so wearing after a while.

You have my heartfelt sympathy,

hebe