The Diary Of John

Saturday, July 05, 2003

Yeah!!!!! The weekends here lol

Just a quick post while im waiting to be picked up to go to dinner :-). Im a little nervous actually lol. Well more than a little as its been a long time since i went out to dinner with anyone. Itll be a good time though im sure and maybe ill get to practice my portugues a little more too, well i will have to say definately really as Eliene doesnt really speak alot of english :-). Its going to be great.. i can feel it :-)

So today i taught GS1 beginners for a change. i have never taught one of these groups on my own before and was a little worried but once it got going i think they really enjoyed it although i used a little portugues with my explanations. Mis pronouncing the portugues words to get them all laughing worked well and i think they had alot of fun for the last hour of the lesson that i took over in :-).

Yesterday nite was the party for Alex the most of the time coordinator and teacher whos leaving to go to teach in Recife and i was trying out the kareoke and also talking to the bosses of the schools who were telling me that i am going to get more groups next semester which will be great not only for the money but also the different groups i will get to teach in. Maybe ill get some low level groups to try as i have never taught Gs2 or GS3 students and i would like the challenge :-). Tomorrow i have a birthday party for one of my students too whos 22yrs old... Congrats Aline lol ive got a busy weekend.. nice as i get bored sometimes very quickly lol.

Okay i had better end here and go and get ready to go to Elienes house and i have to remember to pick up some flowers on the way ;-) Tchau Tchau lol

posted at 5:02 PM by john |

Thursday, July 03, 2003

Home at last lol

Im just winding down here before going to sleep and just finished the last load of tests for my OM2 group at night and they all passed with flying colors so Congratulations to Aline, Jofran, Katia, Zac, Janaina, Leonardo, Francisco & Roberta :-) I just have my OM3 on saturday to finish and then its just standby time lol. Isnt that great?... Well i think it is anyway so thats all that matters :-)

I have been reading a couple of books here for some new conversation stuff i am going to do in the next semester including the Nasa survival game which i havent done with any of the groups yet. Its an oldish game but a classic and sure to get a few of the students brain cells running around as they try to figure out what they would do and take in the situation lol. I have some other stuff too but really need to figure out some stuff for beginner and junior groups to use too. Ill work on it through the weekend and see what websites and books i can dig up. I like to try to do something fun in my conversation classes as too much methodology can get a little stale and boring sometimes and usually i get out my crazy quiz cards once in a while too just for fun as they always get a few laughs lol. Maybe ill put the Nassa stuff here in a file just in case anyone who reads this wants to play around with it. I will see how much time i get over the weekend :-)

Okay time for me to go and get some sleep as i am dog tired now and need to relax with my book and get some serious shut eye lol.. Gnite all!!!

posted at 9:19 PM by john |

Wednesday, July 02, 2003

Okay im back yet again lol. this standby time is getting a little boring but earlier on i got to give the exams to a group of children who were very funny. checked their scores so WELL DONE to Isa, Barbara, Andrey, Gustavo and also Bruno... Hey guys see your famous on the internet now lol. Kids you gotta love em right? ;-)

Just thirty minutes to go here and then i have to go over to the other school to give some oral exams i think. To be honest im not sure though as the secretaries cannot make up their minds what we are supposed to be doing. So long as they pay me thats the important part yes?? lol

My blogrolling page says i can only have one link list per account name, i will have to find another one that lets me have multiple ones for free as i hate having to have loads of user names and passwords just for one site. Any that you know you can email to me okay guys.

Okay.. now to see if there is any coffee here lol... the girl who is supposed to make it apparently has no idea how to make coffee so the tech guys usually ends up making it... dont ask me, i just work here remember? lol

posted at 4:19 PM by john |

Using the old technology here lol

Well im at work and they seem to have deleted the bloggar program from the computer so i will use the blogger site. As you can see the keyboard here is terrible so excuse my typing mistakes okay?

I have been looking for some other weblog tools etc for fun but havent found anything that looks fun or interesting lol. I was hoping maybe to start a weblog that my students would all post on in english just for a bit of fun although it would have to be the MEC ones i think as they need to practice alot with their new vocabulary.. ill look into it as something to do next semester as i think would be good fun :-).. Actually i like this idea more and more now lol

Right back to the search here and to also find some new stuff for conversation classes as well. See ya later :-)

posted at 3:59 PM by john |

God im getting bored here lol

Hmmm well as you can see im back here yet again lol. Im trying to see why the Ftp link doesnt change even though its setup in the options for this site. Oh well i guess it must be something in the ini file, ill check it out later on or maybe at work as i soon have to go over to the school.

I was checking out the site for the new Terminator III film and its looking excellent. Some pokey guy in the states gave it a right slagging off though. I bet this guy has never been in a film or anything so how can he critisize other peoples work or give reviews on something he knows nothing about?. I am sure that the film will be good as it looked excellent and special effects unreal at the trailers in the cinema at the weekend :-). Ill go see it this weekend if i get time although i already have a load of things to do and yes maybe dinner as well lol. I found a picture from the site to post here of the T-X Terminator (is that her name? lol).

Mmmm, A cute Terminator Lol

posted at 12:03 PM by john |

"Technology now allows employers to cross the line from monitoring the work to monitoring the worker."

Well as i have nothing to do i am back here again lol. Can you see how wonderful and interesting a life i must lead here in Brasil? ;-)

Ive been playing with the Ftp function of Wbloggar to see how it all works. It connects straight away to tripod with no problems and even adds the html for you to the posting which is nice. The bad news.... it doesnt add the correct path in the html so that i have to add the extra to make the photo or file appear in the page. Hmm i have no idea why this is as i have checked the path several times and then used my Ftp program to comfirm the file was being uploaded to the right folder on the server but although it functions the html is still off and only shows the root directory in the path in the html code. Its no big problem though as i can just add the folder manually :-). It would be nice if it did it itself though as would be alot easier for new starters... ill check the website and see if there is something i have to do to make it all work. Perhaps there is some sort of update that i havent downloaded that fixes bugs or something. I was sure i had the latest stuff though. Will see later on..

I was supposed to collect adrianas glasses this morning but the guy told me that they have to fly in the lenses and they are going to maybe be ready by or after 4pm this afternoon but i wont have the time to go and get them today for her. I wonder why they had to fly in the lenses, i must have misunderstood that although i was sure that was the message. Wierd aint it? lol. Oh well never mind.. such is life right? ;-)

The decorating is still going on my the little house that i am going to rent. i had a quick look this morning when i got back from work and its looking okay so it wont be too long i think before i can move in. maybe sometime in the next two or three weeks i hope. I must get around to looking for some furniture too as i havent even started to get anything yet... Oops lol. I wont bother with a tv though as i hate Brasilian television, its all soap operas or depressing programs like Faustau which is a BIG pile of shit lol. I think they must do it on purpose to drive people to commit suicide to keep the population figures low :-(. Let me search here for a cd to listen too....

**Now listening to... Guns & Roses - Civil War**

I like to listen to Guns & Roses are most of their songs are based on some element of truth and it makes for interesting lyrics to use with my students in the classes. I know my students like to bring lyrics for me to decipher for them and its good fun although sometimes i think the people who wrote the songs must have been drunk or crazy.. just look at the people who write Sandy & Junior songs for example :-). Axl Rose though creates really interesting lyrics that i think are good for people to read through as he touches on alot of things in just one song. Heres a few words from Civil War as i like this song alot..

My hands are tied
For all I've seen has changed my mind
But still the wars go on as the years go by
With no love of God or human rights
'Cause all these dreams are swept aside
By bloody hands of the hypnotized
Who carry the cross of homicide
And history bears the scars of our civil wars

Years ago Lennon sang about war and peace but now adays we need to have stronger lyrics that tell how things are now not what we wish them to be as they sang in the 60s. But of course wars will never stop as they are big business with alot of money changing hands and the fact that people die isnt really important. We only have to look at Iraq or Afganistan and see whats happening there to see the real truths of war and how things are and always will be. :-(

I had better go and get some lunch and get showered ready to go over to Sobradinho for me three exciting hours of doing.... nothing lol Maybe i should get some games to install and play online during all this free time i have at work.. what do you think? lol

posted at 10:14 AM by john |

"Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so, too."

Just got in here from work, its warming up here now which is good as it was a little cool this morning when i got up at 7am lol. Even standby time i have to get up early... do you feel sorry for me? :-). Ive got a few hours free and then have to go over to the other school and spend most of my standby time just sat on their computers i think looking for stuff on the internet for the other conversation classes that i am going to give next semester in Gama. Itll help pass the time as three hours of doing nothing can get very boring lol.

I?ve got a few sites on line to look at already but need some more stuff for beginners so i can get the new students and kids interested in doing some conversation classes too. Im going to convert some Japanese stuff to use with my groups too, i have just to print it off and then find a way of using the games with a brasilian flavor instead of oriental lol. sounds like loads of fun doesnt it?.. maybe i should teach my students some japanese as well.. what do you think about this idea? ;-)

**Now playing Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Cant Stop**

Remember i was messing around with that Webcrimson the other day??... well i got an email from them telling me that everything is fine lol. How can it be fine when nothing is working on their sites?. I guess it must be a new sort of site where people go to get angry or stressed ;-). I think that they have problems but they just havent any idea that something isnt working with the sign ups. Ill play around with it at work later on as i have plenty of time to waste later on lol. There are a few sites though for me to check out just for fun really, i wont bother with that Live journal one though as they have this wierd way of getting people to join and i cant be bothered with that just to see how it works etc.

On a good note though the Bloglet site is working fine as i get updates from it so it must all be set up properly :-). I gather that it emails every day any changes that are made to the site which is nice for the few people i know read this as they can just go when i have made major changes... oh but i update every day lol I guess you guys get emails from me whether you want to or not then right? ;-)

Ill go and get coffee and check my emails now while i have time free and then i have a bit of tidying up to do and then to find my standby list so i can see what days i have to work at both of the schools. Thrilling aint it? lol

posted at 8:40 AM by john |

Tuesday, July 01, 2003

Im playing here.. Can you tell? lol

Well i have got around here to downloading the Wbloggar program that i was messing around with at work yesterday and got it all installed and configured. There seems to be quite a few Weblog programs and sites etc that it will work with although its best not to try Webcrimson as its not working and there hasnt been an update on their site since last year lol. Doesnt sound too good does it? lol.

Anyway the new program looks good, spell checker doesnt work though as it crashes the program but i never had one in the blogger basic either so it doesnt really bother me :-). It lookss good too, loads of options to play with and has Ftp function built in... nice so i dont have to mess around with two or more programs. Custom tags.. A few different html things too.. pçost to multiple weblogs.. Wow!!! lots of new toys here to play with ;-). Itll be fun but really the best option for me is the option to type offline and save to post or publish later on which isnt always easy to do with the blogger site. Still Wbloggar and Blogger all work together which i think is just excellent. Way to go lads and lasses lol.

I have oral tests i think this evening... im not sure how many im going to do as both secretaries dont seem to communicate with one another so the other day i didnt get a message not to go to work and ended up going when i could have had a lie in. We are in desperate need of a coordinator at this school lol. We have one but she works in a school miles from ours so getting to see her is a bit of a problem but our school is developing more and more problems each day... i hope they get it sorted soon. One of the secretaries is going on a power trip at the moment and i have been listening to alot of my students saying they are not going to come back again next semester if she becomes ~~chief secretary~~ and she also seems to have it in for me as she was bragging to people that she is going to report me to the directors of the school.. who cares right? lol. Is she wants to get into a pissing competition then im all for it with all the complaints i have from the students and other teachers as well :-). We will see how this is going to play out later in the teachers meetings wont we? ;-)

Anyway Congratulations to MEC1 for passing their oral exams with excellent grades, well done Edmar, Juliana and Rosana :-). All my students are doing really well in their tests and im quite proud of them all, dont tell them i said that though okay or they will get all weepy lol.

I had a look at some of the other weblog programs and sites today just for something to do as i was a little bored earlier on. There is a huge selection of them now and Wbloggar works with just about all of them which is nice although i just need it to work with Blogger lol. One program that handles all is great though for if i ever decide to use one of the other ones. The webcrimson one has all sorts of errors flashing up on the screen, server problems etc so best to keep away from that one i think until someone wakes up there as it has no postings for a year on the homepage lol. I might get around to posting something about the different ones if and when i get time although you guys can just go visit them for yourselves right? ;-)

Well i havent heard anything about that dinner being canceled on saturday or sunday so i wonder if its still going ahead? Ill find out later in the week i guess when Eliene has decided if she will go to visit her parents and if so its just a postponement of another few days. Im getting a little excited here as i have never been invited to dinner before so its the height of my social calendar lol. Yeah im losing my marbles!!!!!

Im just trying to figure out how to setup the Ftp part so it will upload files and pics etc, i wonder if it automatically adds the links to the posting for me?. i will have to look at the help screen at work tomorrow as i have around three hours of standby time to do so itll pass the time for me lol. It looks as though it adds a link for me.. nice if it does as it will save beginners alot of hard work with adding html links etc in the blogger post screen :-). Another toy for me to play with tomorrow at work right? ;-)

Id better get off and have something to eat and wait for the phone to ring to tell me whether i have to collect adrianas New Glasses from the opticians when i go to work. I should just go there really to the store as its just a few minutes from my job but they arent going to ring until just before i have to go to work.. pain in the arse right?. Im curious though to see if their prescription sun glasses are any good as if they are i might have a pair myself instead of my magnetic ones. Anyway im outta here sports-fans lol

posted at 3:39 PM by john |

Monday, June 30, 2003

Test posting

This is a test posting that i created at work using w.bloggar so i can see how it works. Hey actually it works quite well and with a host of features too that dont appear on the website. might try it out just for a few days to see how i get along with it :-) There seems to be quite a few features here that i can play around with and the option to type and edit alot of things offline of course for me is great as it is very expensive to be online at home instead of here at work using their lightening fast asdl. This is definately for downloading later on to try out and play with tomorrow although ill leave it installed here at work too so i can use it during the standby hours i will be doing :-). Excellent..... A new toy for me to play around with lol

Let me just go and check my email and if i get time i will be back again to play just a little more

**Im like a kids in a candy store now lol**

posted at 3:35 PM by john |

Hahahaha now i see the problem lol

Im here at work and logging onto the blogger website and i can see what my problem is with the blogger new post screen. Its because im using a new version of internet explorer at home and here just internet explorer 5 and with 5 i can use the Lofi version but with the other i have to use the new version of blogger which has all the glitches on it that are annoying me lol. wonder if there is a way i can just use this Lofi version without having to mess around alot?? I will look in the help section in a minute and see what it has to say... I hope that now i will be able to use the Lofi version all of the time now once i can figure out how to get my browser to look at its pages online lol.

Let me go and look and see what is in the help section okay as here we have asdl which is alot faster than my home line :-)

posted at 3:09 PM by john |

What no quote?? Oh My God!!!!!!! lol

Well im here... i have arrived!!!!!!! :-) My weekend was great too so plenty to type about this morning lol. first let me get my coffee as i need some caffeine okay guys? lol.... Okay im here and ready to begin lol...

**Ac/Dc - Lets get it up**

Well saturday was spent mostly giving classes and also giving exams too and in my exams all my students passed their writen exam in OM3 so well done guys :-) I have to give just oral tests now this week until saturday when my TT group that i just acquired will take theirs and with a bit of luck i will just have standby time to do then which is easy stuff but gets a little boring sometimes.... time to get the videos out right? ;-)

Yesterday i went to see the film Hulk and its excellent :-).. the special effects are great and i thought better than Spiderman and its also very funny too :-). Its well worth watching and a couple of hours soon passes with hardly any boring parts in it.. nice :-). I went with Tim who is a friend of mine from america and afterwards we went to have something to eat with his girlfriend Laura and her friend Eliene (i probably didnt spell this correctly lol). Shes really sweet and looks like we will be having dinner together which is nice isnt it? :-). Im not sure if it will be this weekend coming or next as she is was thinking of visiting her parents. Whether anything will come of this i have no idea but has been a long long time since i got invited to go to dinner lol. Nice that Eliene speaks just a little english too but better for me as ill get to practise my portugues as i hardly ever get the chance with always being around people who talk english all of the time. My weekend was okay wasnt it?... Hmm well i thought it was anyway so there :-P

I wonder if there is possibility that my cds will arrive finally from the uk today? No of course they wont right? lol. I should have just got them from the internet instead as its easier costs less and i would have had them the same day. I think i need a trip to the Paraguay Fair to stock up with some music cds and also some other stuff too. My brother emailed me to tell me that he has managed to get hold of a copy of Linux for me and hes going to try to ship it over to me... will it arrive here though that is the question we must ask ourselves lol ;-) I would like to try out Linux just for curiosity and to see how much difference there is between it an Windows although i will always keep windows as its just needed for everything with Linux being a Geek toy. Will be interesting though to try it out :-)

I setup the newsletter thingy for my webpage at the weekend too so hopefully it will work just fine. Ill wait to see what people who use it say to me though and then alter it to get it working properly :-) There are alot of instructions on the webpage to alter and customise it all so ill play with it later in the week if i get time just for fun lol. I didnt get to try out the other things yet but when i do ill post here how i got on with them all okay?

Well i will stop here so i can go and get something to eat and more coffee... of course..... lol. I wonder if you guys belive that i drink as much coffee as i say in this weblog? ;-) Answers of a postcard okay? lol. Im out of here.. bye bye for now guys and gals :-)

posted at 11:00 AM by john |