crap to the power of infinity

I was making a list* of the things I have to do at work, and it scared me, so I’m putting it out there so I can maybe get a little reassurance that no, I’m not going crazy, there IS inequity at my workplace…. Here’s the list so far:
#1# plan Year 12 Graduation night**, which means I have to:
- order presentation folders (a nice little number in faux-leather, with pockets inside to store certificates etc, kids can use it later for resumes etc)
- organise pot plants, carpet squares, curtain thingies for the stage and chairs to go into the gym to make it purdy
- keep track of invited special guests (invites and rsvps)
- organise the winners of special awards (we rely on staff to do this, at the moment, there have been four nominations returned)
- co-ordinate the writing of the Year 12 references (each year we write a reference for each student, and they get it in their Graduation folder, there are 5 teachers writing them, and they are supposed to be done before the holidays begin in 4 days time)
- choose the paper the awards will be printed on (apparently this is very important, I had to go to a meeting for it…)
- co-ordinate the set-up of the gym for the night – seating, screen for power-point display etc)
- make sure that the people who hire the gym (for dancing, karate etc) have been notified and know that the gym is unavailable on that night
- organise parking and security for the night
- organise a light supper for 80 students and their guests
- co-ordinate prizes for award winners (subject awards and special awards)
- find and then dry-clean the sashes that the students wear on the night
- find music to play before the ceremony (they’re getting Buble)
- write a speech that doesn’t contain any bitterness or resentment or cynicism
- help the Student Council leaders to write their speeches
- make sure that all departments give me the names of the subject award winners, AND give me the prize. Find someone to wrap them all, and stick the stickers in them etc - this has been my job in past years, I usually ended up going out and buying most of the prizes as well!

I know that there are people who will help me closer to the event, with the actual physical carrying-out of tasks, but it's a bit overwhelming keeping track of everything.....!

* actually, I think I just want sympathy, cake and ego-boosting
** each of these points has a sub-list of tasks, but if I type them all out, I’ll cry, and I just got my new laptop and I don’t want it to get all salty with tears

- plan and organise the end-of-year excursions (last day of school, and the end-of-year dinner, which this year is a River Cruise)
- plan the Year 12 breakfast – the staff cook breakfast for the 12’s on their last day (need to organise who’s buying the food, what food to buy, and who’s cooking/serving/cleaning up. Also need to find someone to set-up the day before.
- plan the last day assembly stuff – speech for me, and item for the kids to perform (their idea - I think I’ll be bumping that one)
- organise the Yearbook – photos, articles from staff and students, find a printer….
- teach 3 or 4 out of 5 sessions per day - the other 1 or two sessions per day are spent dealing with kids who have been sent to the Year Office, because we have magic wands and can fix any problem (oh, use sarcasm much??)
- track down students who have left school without paying the final payment on their Leaver’s Jackets
- find money to pay for three exchange student’s Leaver’s Jackets who have since left the school and now are home in Switzerland, Thailand and Argentina...
- monitor student progress so that the school can ascertain how many will actually be graduating so that the Education Department can tell us we’re wonderful because we got 100% graduation, even though we just take the names of the kids who won’t graduate off the Year 12 list and re-enroll them as pretendy Year 11’s……stupid. I don’t get politics.
- interview students with regard to the likelihood of them passing their TEE exams (or not…in which case I have to advise them/recommend to them to not sit the exams, a lovely conversation to have with a student at this late stage of the year….)

Shall I continue?? I think not, I’m beginning to feel panicky. Which means that I don't sleep, and end up at work at 6.30am because at leat if I'm here I can feel like I'm doing something!!!

On the knitting front –
- two pairs of fingerless gloves (sorry, no pics yet) – Dashings (for Carmel, one of our lovely Aides – she makes beautiful jewellery – amongst other things – and we’ve had our own mini-swap. She made me a beautiful shawl pin, and then as a mega-bonus, threw in a pair of earrings and a silver bracelet!!! Pics to follow, as soon as I can find my camera cable) and Fetchings (in Malabrigo Silky Merino, for Kristen, my nail-lady, because she gets sore joints in her hands, and when I lent her my Malabrigo ones, she says her hands haven’t been sore since) both modified because I hate following patterns
- Hat Attack hat (for Lizknits99 – Rav name)
- beginnings of a shawl for me, made with Kauni
- a felted laptop bag

Okay, I'm worn out from all this whingeing and whining, so I'll be offski....


(just re-read what I'd written, and I'm not being totally fair. There are some excellent people at my workplace, dedicated, over-worked, taken-for-granted, committed and professional. This is purely a whinge about what's on my plate at the moment. Because I just want to stay home and knit.)