I'm bored of Oblique Strategies now. They only serve to remind me of how little time I have to do anything creative at the moment. This week, in particular, is going to be quite harsh in terms of relaxation and productive time. Tonight, I have to write out lesson plans for tomorrow because the school's having a mini-OFSTED (there'll only be 3 inspectors, and they're only there for the day). The chances of me being seen teaching are quite slim, but on the off-chance, I need make sure I've covered myself. So, a Year 10 lesson which would normally consist of pupils drafting their coursework, will now incorporate a number of activities.

Tomorrow, when not hiding in the staffroom so that the inspectors can't interrogate me, I need to prepare for the following day's Year 7 parents' evening. This will be my first solo parents' evening, and I'm going to be quite nervous. Firstly, I only see one of my classes once a week and don't know some of their names, so when a parent says, "I'm Sam's mum," I will be desperately racking my brain to remember the child in question and will instead look at my mark book and think, "Well, I have no idea how often he contributes in class, but he seems to do homework to a reasonable standard." Secondly, this is a high-achieving school, and I just know that some parents are going to start grilling me about how their child can reach the next attainment level. Snore.

Meanwhile, I'll be itching to get away because I'll need to drive to Leeds with a carload of folk to go to the Beirut gig. I'm pretty excited about that and looking forward to a rare girls' night out.

Then Friday, I need to take a trip to Liverpool for my siblings' birthdays.

I'm tired just thinking about it all.

No, I'm just tired.

Teaching seemed okay last week. This week it's boring the shit out of me . . .