Teacher Strike and Other Stuff

So... today Jen's on strike!

She almost had heart palpitations when she was told last week that there would be a strike today. I mean really... she's only been teaching for a little over a week! But we were thinking of teacher strikes in terms of what's happened in Ontario the last few times, with entire school boards being shut down and lots and lots of hard feelings. No no! That's not what's going on. This is a one-day work action, and not all teachers are involved. Apparently it's not mandatory to be part of the teacher union here, which Jen and I find really strange.

So yeah, she's downtown somewhere, joining the protest. If you're interested in learning more about the issues, check out this article from today's Herald Sun.

Mark worked Jen and I rather hard at trampolining last night. I did 100 back drops in a row without dying. Jen successfully did some sort of flip whose name I can't currently remember, but she's been working on them for a long time. I strained a muscle in my arm that kept me from doing anything even remotely resembling a front drop for the rest of the night (and boy am I glad I'm not having to write on a blackboard today). Jen landed on her head at one point and kinda went 'crunch', but appears to be OK today. We're both going for massages once she's finished striking, in celebration of her first paycheck as a contracted teacher.

When I went down for breakfast this morning, I discovered we've acquired yet another new house mate. Her name is Oxana, she's from Windsor, Ontario, and yes, she's also a teacher! I think it's funny that there are more teachers in this house than any other profession.

Jen's mom should have landed in Sydney by now - she'll be touring Australia with us for the next three weeks or so. She'll be in Sydney until Saturday and then she'll fly down to join us here in Melbourne. This means that Jen and I will be spending the next two days cleaning and tidying in order to have a "mom-approved" house. :-)

My parents will be arriving in Sydney in early March, and I'll be there to meet them. For a while I wasn't sure if they would be coming at all! Dad had problems getting a visa, and then my Mom fell and broke her arm in a bad spot. But they've both been cleared and will be on their way shortly. It's been a dream of my Mom's to come to Australia for as long as I can remember, so I'm really excited!