I got a resolution for you
Do little, do less, do nothing
Unfocus, unwind, chase nought
See what results that will bring
Success is for the losers
Stuck forever within the grind
Missing out is my success
And gives me peace of mind
As you approach the same age as your parents when they had you, you gain great empathy for them, realising that like you, they were just kids trying to figure it all out along the way.
Cole Schafer
Gratitude Journal
I am so happy and grateful to be able to watch my students mature and improve their learning. I’m grateful to be part of that journey with them.
Got a little frustrated yesterday afternoon as I ran around getting a blood test and photos taken. The blood test has to be certified by a doctor and only one specific doctor. I wanted to take it there straight away but it doesn’t open until 6.30 pm, by which time I’m usually already at home and far away. I wasn’t going to hang around.
TLC insist that I have everything done by today but only told me about doing this on Tuesday. Never mind being busy with teaching and having to get a slew of documents copied. I don’t know why they can’t be organised enough to advise one month ahead of time. It’s typical Thai style and irritating. If I don’t do it in time, it means I will be penalised and have to pay more for the work permit.
Anyway, last night I just went home and put it to the back of my mind and primed myself to stay in the city for an extra 2 and a half hours waiting for the doctor to open at 6.30.
Last night, I spent time with Ableton and Launchkey and played a bunch of guitar. That was fun and I felt good, watching some TV and reading for a bit. Got to get back to reading Infinite Jest – it’s sitting there like a lead weight. Every time I pick it up to read, I love it but it’s not an easy read and it can feel like a chore.
This morning I was feeling good but my first class didn’t go well. The kids were tired and distracted and I felt like giving up but I stared out of the window and talked myself out of the feeling. It wasn’t too bad by the end and the next class went well, though everyone was a bit subdued there too. One more class…..
I saw the boys of this class playing football in the playground so I decided to join them and bond with them a little more and we had a good ten minutes before class started. It put me in a more active mood and the boys, who are usually a handful, were still playful but did their work, mostly. I leave this class easy work for Friday afternoon because I know they just want to finish and go home or talk with their friends. TFIF, though often these students think the week finishes on Monday morning.
So anyway, a happy end to the day. Now sitting around reading and finishing off a lesson I want to teach about sexual abuse in Thailand. I also want to put together a few new lessons to break up the ones I have now, which are all following a method (which seems to be working) but also feels a little mechanical.
What are some age-related milestones you are looking forward to? Or ones you ‘missed’ and might try to reach later, off schedule, according ot our culture and expectations.
The milestone I’m looking forward to is retirement. That doesn’t mean stopping working, but stopping working for money. It’s age-related but I don’t want to wait until I’m 65. I’d like to do it this year.
What other milestones are there? The decades? Age is just numbers and bodily deterioration! One thing I did hope to do at 50 was to have a big birthday concert with some of my favourite bands playing but as it turned out, I was working night shift in Adelaide and hadn’t been around the music scene for a few years already. It doesn’t matter – I’m not upset about it. At that time, I was working towards bigger things – moving to Thailand. That was what was important.
The big milestone of death I would like to put off as long as possible unless I go senile, though at that time I probably won’t really be thinking about it. I’d like to be fit and fifty-five, sixty with a six pack. I guess those milestones aren’t particularly in our culture though.
1994ever 