not my most productive day
Aprilia was with mum and dad today but due to dad not being allowed to drive for another few weeks I needed to drop her off - Mum won’t come to my house, it’s too dirty aparently. So, got home again and started on the books with occaisional jaunts into housework for light relief (never thought I’d say that!) The phone rang, then there was someone at the door, then there was some other distraction yada yada yada. ho hum. I did manage to do a mind map on paper for a specimen exam question, took me 15 minutes to put together from memory and that’s about what I recon I have time-wise for the planning stage of each question It’s a 3 hour 45 minute paper, 3 questions so up to 5 minutes to pick which one I’ll do for each section (choice of 3 per section), 15 minutes to mind map it then 45 minutes to write it up plus some "give" for checking over etc at the end. I remember being told at school to spend no more than 45 mins on each essay for a-levels as that’s the time frame you get the most marks in, after that you are liable to lose the plot so it’s best to leave it and start the next answer on a fresh page to allow you to go back if you need to and have time.
Went back to get Aprilia and discovered that mum has been being rather insensitive yet again 
Seems she decided to measure Aprilia very publicly at the hairdressers then declare to all and sundry that she is fat. Now, I have to say, she’s not thin, she has a belly on her, it comes, she grows, it goes (well, not totally but a lot of it goes) She’s not as fit as she has been, mainly becuase we’ve not been in the forrest much - vast areas of it were declared unsafe with the rain and flooding - but she’s comfortable in clothes for her height (not her age!) She is also, for all her outward bluster adn aparent self confidence, a bit of a sensitive soul. She is utterly distraught by mum’s public humiliation of her and I can’t really say I blame her. But the punchline of all this? They wen’t from the hairdressers to the charity shop and then next door to the……. bakery 
that is truly awful of her. rage on your behalf and hugs for your gorgeous little girl. honestly!!
Comment by HelenHaricot — August 7, 2007 @ 8:45 pm
Even I want to deck her for that one! Is there any mileage in saying if she doesn’t get her tongue in check she can’t have her grand-daughter over any more? If she wants to see her she’ll have to come to you?
Comment by Joanna — August 7, 2007 @ 9:24 pm
Oh T-Bird, your parents!!!
Hope you can do plenty of minimising Aprilia’s hurt feelings and rolling eyes all over the place at going to the bakery afterwards!
Comment by Nic — August 7, 2007 @ 10:01 pm
Most people aren’t designed to have figures like supermodels, come to that most supermodels aren’t designed to have figures like supermodels. I don’t think Aprilia has any kind of problem whatever, she always looks to be about right for her, which is all that matters. In every way I think fit and healthy are the objectives to pursue, good diet and exercise. Being thin, ill and unfit is a great way to be.
The best program about the thin obsession I have seen in a long time was Super Slim Me. In the comment thread you asked “How on earth do they get that screwed up that young?”, well now you know….
Suggest you ensure that Aprilia is too dirty for your mother’s taste in future…
Comment by Tim — August 7, 2007 @ 10:54 pm
rofl at Tim’s dirt suggestion, but absolutely no rofling at your mother generally. Honestly, that’s beyond the pale, if she is concerned (not that she’s any cause to be) she should speak to you. We’ve had similar comments from my mother, don’t think she’s ever said it in Big’s hearing though.
Comment by Jax — August 8, 2007 @ 2:09 pm
What course are you doing T?
Comment by Erica — August 8, 2007 @ 8:25 pm
Erica, I’m doing A207 - From Enlighenment to Romanticism, it’s a very varied course, some of it has been terrifically interesting, a few bits have been just okay and one or two bits have been just not my thing! Overall it’s been good though. I’m on the “final leg” now, just 1 TMA then the exam in October. Then I get to do housework for a few months before I start the next course
Comment by Administrator — August 8, 2007 @ 8:30 pm
Wow, sounds really interesting..
Comment by Erica — August 9, 2007 @ 1:48 pm
Do you cover the New Romantics?
:-|
Comment by Tim — August 9, 2007 @ 2:11 pm
’scuse me whilst I blow razzberries at Tim
Ah, that’s better
Yes, Erica, it’s very interesting in a lot of ways, not just from the POV of the course but also in learning about how I learn (as previously blogged so I’ll not ramble on again!) It’s certainly made me want to do more courses with a history content in them which is something that would have apauled me a few years ago when i firmly believed history was deadly boring. Does this mean I’m growing up then?
Comment by Administrator — August 10, 2007 @ 2:41 pm