Work – probably boring to everybody except me

Righty ho. New year’s eve celebrations and new year’s day hangovers are now a thing of the past. Not that I had either, but I’m no longer expected to and so I can get back to normal. Soon, the irritating, “Did you have a good Christmas?” question will also be no more and I’ll be back properly at work. A good thing.
 
Despite being pleased to be back to work shortly, I’m already trying to deal with little problems that have come along. On Tuesday, I’m taking a group of young people to Madison Heights, http://www.madisonmaldon.com, for a soft play teen evening with food. It was their request to go there, as a celebration for their volunteering work last year, and so I found the budget and set it up. Now… about half of them are saying they can’t make it; stupid excuses like “family commitment,” “kidney infection,” “homework,” and “I forgot about it.” Trouble is, this will mean the ones who do go will be rattling round in a huge space and it just won’t be the same fun for them. A couple of them still haven’t answered my emails, texts and calls. 
 
Then there’s my proposed holiday with Margaret. The dates clash with dates that I’m running exams. Because the exams I’m holding are Functional Skills pilot ones, there is no flexibility with when I can hold them. I need to talk to the awarding body, but I can’t do that until next week, because the people there all saw fit to take time off for the season.
 
One thing that could develop into a stressor is training some young people in care to be part of the process to commission their advocacy service. I’ve prepared a draft programme for the training, but the corporate parenting stuff is all brand new to me and although I know the dictionary definition of advocacy, I have no idea what it involves in this context. I can’t even get hold of a blank copy of the bid, because every damn person is away until at least the middle of next week. The first training session is also next week.
 
Another group I work with is working on a project to develop a “Safe House Party” toolkit and resource pack. Brilliant stuff and a couple of the county councillors are supporting them. They raised funding and consulted with first aid trainers, the police and our drugs/alcohol advisory service – so all done properly. Now (I got the email on the LAST working day before Christmas), our curriculum development manager is voicing concerns because he thinks it may encourage young people to go to house parties. And then at the end of the email he said “I remember only too well what I got up to at parties when I was younger and that’s why I’m not sure about it.” Tar. Brush.
 
Gotta love people – young and old are all as bad as each other!