Exams, Sore Feet and a Radio Interview!

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It’s been an unusual few weeks!

I’ve done a radio interview, which was very exciting, I’ve continued to do some supply teaching, but I took on the role of exam invigilator towards the end of last week too – it’s mock exam season to prepare students for the process of sitting their GCSE exams. When I was initially asked about my availability I jumped at the chance – standing there for a few hours in silence with no responsibility other than to fetch paper and equipment and ensure that the students remain silent (which they do – the exams officer at the school is incredible) seemed perfect. However, after two-and-a-half days I had learnt several things.

My posture is awful.

My feet are not cut out to withstand 5 hours of standing a day, particularly at my current weight – by the end of each day they were throbbing and had swollen up almost as badly as when I burned them in Barcelona…

Standing in silence for long periods of time is a lot more difficult than I thought.

Despite this, it was a really positive thing – the students taking the exams were ones that I have known since they started at the school in Year 7, and I have a good relationship with them all. I was proud of how focused and hard they worked under conditions that I remember being very stressful during my own exam experiences nearly twenty years ago… Twenty years – it makes me feel very old. I was also able to map out some blog ideas in my head and by the time I got home in the evening I was fired up to get online and catch up with everything I had been thinking about during the day.

The radio interview was with Radio Wolverhampton – a local station in which my friend Tom (@ThankBookFor) has his own show, with the focus being on books, writing, blogging and libraries. I’ve done a podcast interview with him and author GX Todd (@GemTodd) before, and run a social media workshop with him at a local library, but that didn’t stop me from feeling ridiculously nervous. I was lucky in that he was also interviewing writer Hayley Morgan (@dyingischeaper), and during our conversation I discovered that not only did she used to have a WordPress blog, she knew lots of the older bloggers that were around when I first started. It’s a small world.

As always, it was a lot of fun – I got to talk about the new developments I’ve had with the blog, and a few of my favourite blogs that I follow. Even better, I was invited to make my interview a bi-weekly segment on the show, which is amazing!

Within the blogging world, I’ve been developing my Facebook page, which continues to grow and, quite frankly, be a thoroughly fantastic resource and place to be. I’ve had the odd issue with spammers – people who will request to join the board and then will start dropping links to their blogs as soon as they’re added – but I have another admin helping me which means we’ve been able to quickly block and remove them. It’s a really amazing community with people who are eager to communicate and share each other’s work. As always, I wish I’d have started it years ago!

Want to join my Facebook group? There are Thursday’s and Sunday’s allocated for blog link-ups, Saturday’s are for social media, Tuesday’s focus on a single member of the group, and Wednesday’s allow for Amazon, etsy and business promo. There are also regular opportunities to ask advice on all things blogging and join group boards on Pinterest. Click the image below to be taken to the page and send me a request!

What about you guys? What have you been up to?

You can also find me on Twitter and Tumblr @suzie81blog, and don’t forget to follow my Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/suzie81speaks, my Pinterest page http://www.pinterest.com/suzie81speaks and my Instagram page http://www.instagram.com/suzie81speaks

22 thoughts on “Exams, Sore Feet and a Radio Interview!”

  1. Sounds like an eventfull week. I must say that I very much like being part of your Facebook group and I’ve found so many great people and blogs there.

  2. It’s so cool to see how you are networking and how your life is weaving a fascinating combination of teaching and connecting with others. SO happy for you!

  3. What a fantastic week, minus the swollen feet. 😦 My week was spent juggling time at work and at home with my sick 5 year old. It wasn’t all bad though. She’s doing mostly better now, I had a local travel organization ask to use a photo I snapped on our weekend getaway in their promotional work, and I’ve started building a new business that I’m really excited about. So a little bit rocky but mostly good. 🙂 Have a great weekend!

      • Thank you. It’s nice to have her back to her normal self, even if she can be a bit of a maniac. 😉 I’m building a business with a group of moms that is focused on helping other women/moms reconnect with their families and build a business, with the business coming secondary to their families. I love it because I can do it while still working full-time (for the time being) and it allows me to help other moms. 😊

  5. Radio interviewing– so exciting! I LOVE being a part of the Facebook group; I’ve already met so many awesome bloggers and learned so much in the short time since I’ve joined. It’s truly an awesome thing that you’re running. 🙂

  6. The Facebook group is wicked amazing! I’ve learned so much in the short time I’ve been a member, and made some fantastic connections! Thanks again for all you do to help lonely bloggers like myself feel like part of the community!

  9. Just the other day my friend was convincing me to start a fb page for my blog but I wasn’t entirely convinced. But am re-thinking the option after reading your post. Your fb page sounds lovely and very encouraging so will be drop by soon .. Thanks for sharing! 🙂

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