Categories: uncategorized
Date: 21 November 2006 23:06:29
For the first time ever, in... oooh 17 years? of youthwork I broke one of my cardinal rules. I swore in front of the group. But we'll get there in a minute.
Yesterday I was booked in at the youth centre to do artwork with the group but tbh with a royal visit (well, press anyhow) next week there's so much to do I couldn't face doing three sessions AND all of the clearing up and whathaveyou. So I organised for someone else to do it (one of my perogatives as the manager which I don't take up anywhere near enough) and did loads of work sheets to follow on. Then I went up to the Artisan meet in London.
For them what don't know Artisan is a collective of Christian's in the media, arts and creative industries and you can find a website here: www.artisaninitiatives.org They do a fantastic magazine quarterly and all told it's a pretty slick organisation, bearing in mind it's nowhere near a huge outfit from the sounds of it. So I went there, long journey after a long day at work (bursting for loo as soon as I got there, one of the co-ordinators asked me if I was leaving as I tried to work out wher eto escape to), and tried to chill out. On the journey up I'd been trying to work out why I was going... I've been to art Christian meets in Guildford that have left me wound up a wall in a very big way... and in the end all I could come up with was the need for some hope. I've been working for all intents and purposes alone for so long with more and more pressure from all of the jobs that, come this sort of meeting I guess I just needed to feel there was some hope in any of the bits and bobs that I do either for others or for myself. Cue entering the building (for the second time) and there's a big banner up towards the band that says HOPE.
Andy Flannigan was doing the music. Now I've had a chip on my shoulder concerning him for ages (I took a number of older teens to Spring Harvest a few years back and they were... well, they needed a bit of POWER ROCK!!! for the student worship slot. What they got was AF with a small mandoliney type thing and basically it killed off the week stone cold dead). Last night he was very good indeed (I'd still argue that the opening night he did was an experiment that didn't work and was, certainly in my case, highly counterproductive and I'm not saying that rock is the only way and that there's not space for contemplative stuff but on the first night of the high energy high octane students and similar age group come together type thing Irish folk was not the first choice.... But that's ages back and last night was excellent).
So anyhow, was a good night, I felt refreshed for the first time in yonks although... Well, it was a light in the tunnel but the tunnel is still there... But regardless was prayed with and spoke about the guys doing Christmas songs and all sorts. Was a place where I needed to be.
Cue today: in at college. Class awful. Half so inattentive and lethargic that they could not keep up with some simple and some not so simple instructions and kept saying 'what?' 'I don't understand,' and the rest (HALLO? CLUE: LISTEN TO WHAT I'M SAYING WHILE I'M SAYING IT RATHER THAN TRYING TO FIND A WAY TO PUT YOUR IPOD IN WITHOUT ME NOTICING EVEN THOUGH I'VE NOW ASKED YOU THREE TIMES TO TURN IT OFF). So that was fun. To be fair half of the group was and is excellent. It's just the other half and in a big class having to repeat myself three or four times for every instruction leaves my throat uite painful.
Then it was walk home, eat dinner, out after twenty minutes and onto the next group. A music group an hours bus journey away. That's where I broke the rule and I shouldn't have and did apologise for the wording later rather than the sentiment. Generally I try not to swear, I was somewhet foul mouthed pre-C and for the most part I can stick to it however today I was so... fed up with the group I was working with who are normally so good, with a co-worker who had to duck out for the second week in a row at the shortest of notice, at all the tasks that stack up because delegation doesn't work if people don't then do the things I need help with and I end up with more work as a result....
Anyhow I now interrupt this rant with an apology. Sorry about venting. I now return you to the petulant hammering of the keyboard in hand.
Anyhow I told the group I was peed* off with their behaviour on the night which included, but was not limited to, nicking some of my art materials (our budgets require a certain amount of freebies, generally from me), throwing art materials around, distracting others, not working in the band rooms assigned, singing sexual lyrics, chucking rubbish around, throwing biscuits at each other, one person leaving without letting a leader know, a couple of small arguments between some of the people, one car load of kids coming in while we were still setting up and ringing the bell constantly until we let them in, throwing peoples shoes in the bin, sticking stickers all over the place, not turning down the music in the quiet rooms and all that...
So basically a quiet night. Bus was late and then caught in traffic.
All told... Well, lets just say a rant was as neccesary as the Artisan event yesterday, although only one of the things was calming... Occasionally I hope that things will just work out and be easy or something... That work and writing and trying to get people onboard with some of the things I do.... Sometimes things are just the polar opposite of easy.
Aaaanyhow. gonna watch an ep of Battlestar Gallactica, finish off a few work emails and then try and calm down enough to sleep.
(*well, close).
Currently watching: Battlestar Gallactica, series 2: Ressurection Ship 2. Currently playing: Loco Roco: PSP.Currently prayer request: A little more hope please...