Learner plates

Well, I've had me quite a busy week. And it's only Wednesday!

My new job is ACE and (not that I'm bragging), but I'm really good at it :) In fact, I was told today that I am the best first time trainee performer they've had. Yay me! There's so much to learn (seven programs, lots of nutrition facts, stacks of admin stuff) and so much to do (assignments, watch and memorise two programs a day), but I am really enjoying it and looking forward to getting started.

So here's what I do, anyway: Schools book in for a ten week "Healthy Eating Challenge", and we send them a ten week plan with food diaries and challenges and activities for the teacher to do with the class. Also, the teacher chooses a program based on the year level of the kids, and I come out to teach an interactive session to each of the classes, armed with a funky costume (overalls, bright tights, pigtails, and a persona of the same age as the kids I am teaching- yeah, it is HOT) and a very big box of tricks. And I mean BIG. This box is almost taller than me, and folds out to display a body, a healthy food pyramid and more. I also take a range of props, ranging from balls, to puppets, to tents playing the parts of body organs.

Now there is NO way all this stuff will fit into my little bug of a car. But that's ok; I get a company car! It's a small panel van, it's bright purple, and it has a logo and cartoon character on the side. That's cool, I can deal with all that. Here's the REAL hitch. It's a manual car. I drive an auto, and haven't driven a manual since I was seventeen (that's almost eight years ago, for those playing at home). I am picking it up on Sunday.

So I have four days to learn to drive a manual. Started today with a visit from my brother in his fairly old and temperamental manual car. I am AWESOME at changing between gears 2, 3 and 4. It's first gear that gets me (and stalls the car). I'm considering skipping first gear altogether... And what's with hill starts? Ick.

Interestingly, when I started my training on Monday, I had a training buddy, John, and a demonstrating trainer, Genetta. On Tuesday, Genetta decided it was too scary performing for us (eight year olds are WAY less scary than adults), and dropped her job as demonstrator. Today, I turned up to deliver my first practice session to John, and he hadn't arrived. In fact, he didn't arrive nor answer his phone all day. Things are getting mighty strange round here.

I need to practice my routine a lot before I actually get thrown to the sharks, I mean school children. So anyone who's interested in learning all about the body and healthy eating through a combination of storytelling, songs, high energy voice and improvisation of what my props would normally be, come around sometime. It would really help me to have an audience- Nick keeps being a smarty pants :P

On a random side point, our water has become rusty in the mornings. This is not good.