Stage left Enigmatically Entranced; entranced her audience “There she is!” The crowd’s breath held; rapturously Applauded and exited Stage right
Submitted to What’s Going On – A Cameo Appearance. Cameo is a seven-line syllable count, unrhymed poem invented by English poet Alice Spokes. It has 2-5-8-3-8-7-2 syllables per line, for a total of 35 syllables.
Today I’m feeling:
Tired and sick again, though not too terrible, just lacking energy and motivation. My throat is getting more sore and I’m full of medicines.
Today I’m grateful for:
Not having to do anything today, and that is pretty much what I did.
The best thing about today was:
I watched another five episodes of The Boys to finish off the first season. It was good but the comics were more fun.
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
After coffee, I came home to watch the football and was hoping that the Swans could get their act together but they got trounced by Port and now look less likely to win anything else this year. Oh well.
Something I learned today?
I watched a video about dead hangs and how not to push them too much. I haven’t done it much recently and should get back to it.
I want to see the grief expressed Hear the kind words manifest Let me celebrate the life I led To become immortal now I’m dead
You don’t need to shed those tears I got to enjoy so many years But being gone is a long, long time Don’t forget me and what was mine
What wishes made, to have been said Or ones wished retracted instead Look on my legacy for what it’s worth You’ll too join me soon, returned to earth
You and me, will all be forgot Ladies and gentlemen, that’s your lot!
Inspired by reading others’ poems about grief at dVerse this week and the idea of wanting to know how others feel about you once you are gone, much like my teenage student, who, after attempting suicide, said that she wanted to see her mother’s reaction once she was gone!
Today I’m feeling:
Tired and a little sick with a sore throat. I slept for almost twelve hours and crawled back in again at around 11 am, after a couple of coffees.
Today I’m grateful for:
Amy told me that she was talking to a village auntie (the cowman’s wife) over the fence this morning and asked if I was teaching at CRPAO. Amy said yes and the auntie said that her son is in grade 8 and that even though I don’t teach him, she has heard that I’m a good and kind teacher.
That was nice to hear.
The best thing about today was:
Eating some nice food at Bruno and Nut’s place this evening. Even though I was feeling a little tired and sick, I enjoyed eating, talking and listening with them.
Something I learned today?
I watched an interesting video about a new DAW in development called Blockhead. Even though I don’t even use the DAWs that I have, I would still be interested in the idea of playing with them one day.
The words all emptied out of me Contemplating the push and pull Heart and head once so proud and full Sat now, a sculpture by the sea Contemplating the push and pull The words all emptied out of me
The Biolet is a six-line poem; the first two lines are repeated as the last two lines in reverse. The rhyme scheme can be expressed as ABbaBA (with the capital letters representing the repeated lines). The length of the lines can be in iambic tetrameter (8 syllables), iambic pentameter (10 syllables), iambic hexameter (12 syllables), or in unmetered lines of random lengths.
The second line doesn’t fit the iambic tetrameter but I like it there as the actual words make the reader contemplate the push and pull, chaotic like the ocean.
Tired! Gah! Reset my alarm again to get an extra 30 minutes, as I slept very well last night and wanted to sleep more. It’s another English weather day, making my eyes ache and strain again and though my classes were all fun today they also felt like a struggle.
Thankfully, my mind was in pretty good shape and I was able to come up with some good ideas on the fly.
Today I’m grateful for:
The village uncles (see below)
The best thing about today was:
Getting a message from Amy during one of my lessons whilst teaching. The message said ‘I’m in trouble’ and there was a picture of our car stuck in the mud of our lawn, as she had driven it across there to get closer to the house to unload her shopping.
I chuckled to myself as I carried on teaching. She managed to get it out later with the help of a couple of uncles from next door.
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
In my second class today, half of my students didn’t turn up as they had been pulled off to do something else. It was annoying to find out just as my class was starting and not have advance warning.
I dealt with it by just working with the 11 students who were there, which is a nice number of students for a class!
Something I learned today?
Ukraine has apparently reached out to China to help broker a peace deal with Russia. Hmm….whilst NATO is trying to keep the war going and possibly expanding it to China too….
Review your acts, Good and bad.
I got a message from Winter’s mum that he had had an accident in the morning and was in ER! I later found out that it was a motorbike accident and that he’s ok but his grandmum broke her arm. I wished them the best.
Last night I woke up sometime in the middle of the night with my brain running. This has happened for two nights in a row but last night it was much more difficult to get back to sleep.
A few days ago, I decided to cut the Tramadol tablet in half to try and cut down and maybe give myself a break from taking it for a while to see how I feel. And last night I thought that this was perhaps what had caused me to wake up because this waking up with my mind running hasn’t happened since I started taking Tramadol.
I will see how it is tonight and go from there. I’ve been incredibly calm and content since taking Tramadol but still curious if I can be that way without it.
Today I’m grateful for:
Nong Boom, my grade 12 student. We were studying the IELTS Speaking exam about technology and a main question was about how your life would be different without your most precious item of tech.
To demonstrate I took Boom’s phone and put it in my back pocket and asked her how she felt. After she finished, I purposely didn’t give it back, which she accepted well.
I carried on talking with other students for about 20 minutes and she only once play-whined,’ Teacher – my phone…’ but I still held on to it.
Once I’d finished talking, I opened the camera app on her phone and walked around the classroom taking random photos. Everyone was laughing and Boom took it all in her stride.
In the evening, I asked her if she had any good pictures from today and she sent me this one:
The best thing about today was:
The whole class mentioned above was a pleasure to teach again. A fair few students were missing, which made it even easier to get more personal interactions.
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
The downside of those missing students is that they missed the prep for work required for next week. Well, nothing I can do about that.
Also, in my grade 8 class, I have them reading in groups of 4 and Ten has not been prepared to do anything to help himself, so I put pressure on his group that if I grade the group it will be to the lowest scorer amongst them.
I know this will have a negative effect in that it will make the group members think even less of Ten than they already do but I want to demonstrate to them that this is what happens in real life. The weakest person lets down the whole team.
Something I learned today?
I learned a whole lot about semi-fake mobile game ads, why they are made and how they are implemented. It was a head-shaking experience.
Review your acts, Good and bad.
I talked a little with grade 8 student Film today, as he has cut himself off from Ten and No, as they are not really fulfilling his expectations of friendship. I’m just conscious that last year he came to me to discuss his mental health and I don’t want him to be so isolated and cut himself off from everyone. It’s a weird group of kids in that class for sure. I like them all, except for Ten.
He just, just, just couldn’t get it together Metaphor not needed, no ray of sunshine Petering out, always under the weather He’ll be here when he’s ready, he’s Justin Time
Jimmy the door so that us fools can rush in Do not harry him, his heart is so sublime So mark my words, when he’s ready to begin He’ll be here when he’s ready, he’s Justin Time
Submitted to the AllPoetry’s Expressing Yourself course; write a two-stanza poem using metaphor and Poets and Storytellers United Friday Writings #137: At the Last Minute. Inspired by an old school friend called Justin who inevitably got called Justin Time whenever he was late for something. An added bonus of a boy’s name used in each line too.
Today I’m feeling:
Sleepy with sore eyes. Slept badly, with Tigger waking everyone up at 3 am for some unknown reason, perhaps complaining about the rain. Reset my alarm to get an extra 30 minutes of rest and skipped exercise.
It’s another grey day to dull my aching eyes and even the kids are less enthusiastic today, amplifying the dark, depressing atmosphere. Though kids will no doubt not be able to help themselves from being kids. Will the adults, this adult, be able to be an adult today?
Today I’m grateful for:
Nong Spain carrying half of the workbooks for me up to the classroom this afternoon.
The best thing about today was:
Doing a little catching up with my four free hours. I got another lesson finished plus more ideas along with some reading and writing. No one thing particularly outstanding today.
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
Nong Praew came over to me to help her in the morning class and I guided her to the correct answers. Weirdly, I can feel my Thai improving as I’ve been helping her as she generally only speaks Thai to me unless I ask her to read.
As I was helping her, we used her phone to look up things and I noticed that she had been searching for ‘die, dead, death’ in Google, which she quickly tried to hide. She brushed it off when I asked her about it. She had also told me that she forgot to take her meds in the morning.
Anyway, after she had finished the classwork, she wanted to play but ended up annoying me enough that I left to the cafe to keep working.
In the afternoon class, she was a little concerned that she couldn’t charge her phone and would run out of battery before being able to call her mom to pick her up.
Without being able to charge her phone, a few minutes later, she became teary and I tried to calm her. I looked at her phone and she still had 8% battery left so it didn’t seem like a big deal. In her fragile state though, she couldn’t see it like that.
We did a difficult spelling test and she got deeply involved in that and then I finished up the class and she disappeared quickly.
I messaged her later about why she reacted so strongly to not having her phone charged and she said that she had to walk home. She only lives a couple of blocks from school but it was raining a little.
I wasn’t sure whether to believe this but Kru Jern had mentioned to me that her parents indulge her in everything. In this context, her behaviour makes more sense.
Whilst I will indulge her in learning, I’ll make sure that she knows where are the boundaries.
Something I learned today?
Israel has managed to fire rockets and kill targets in other countries with remarkable precision yet somehow cannot do the same in Gaza, bombing the shit out of everything and anyone.
This clearly shows their intentions. Things are starting to kick off and I can’t see it de-escalating soon.
On the edge. I felt good at forcing myself up and exercising this morning. Could feel my lazy body enjoying the move and stretch.
The weather today is very English and ordinary (a little warmer than in England of course). Dull, grey and spitting light droplets of rain. The dim ambience is straining my tired eyes and as I pulled up for a couple of hours at House with coffee I suddenly felt tired and run down.
Hopefully the coffee picks me up for what should be a relatively straightforward day of classes today.
Today I’m grateful for:
The bakery shop next door to House where I could pick up ingredients for Amy as her first batch of cookies had failed due to too fine a sugar for the mix.
When I got home and tasted them though, they were the best so far but I could still understand why she wasn’t happy with them.
The best thing about today was:
Sitting on the terrace in the egg chair this evening after dark, with Tigger on my lap and rain tap tap tapping down through the canopy of leaves and flowers growing over the entertainment area. The temperature is finally bearable and I’m even wearing a t-shirt tonight, though I could just as easily not do too.
Anyway, it was only a few minutes but I savoured them immensely.
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
I was frustrated with Program (and Kwang) in my grade 8 class and asked him to leave after telling him to sit down on about ten different occasions. He tried to convince me that he was going to behave, but unfortunately, he can’t help himself and will just get up and disturb other people.
As I had said I would kick him out if I had to say his name again, I felt obliged to ensure that he left but he refused. So I told the class to just sit and say nothing until he left. He gave it a good go for about five minutes but Kwang eventually convinced him to leave and I carried on teaching and the class was great after that.
Kwang soon got up and asked to go to the bathroom, though and that was the last I saw of her too.
I didn’t let any of this bother me in particular; just wanted to put my foot down. We have fun in my class but there are limits and they need to understand what is acceptable and what is not. It’s a little sad because Program and Kwang are capable students. They just lack maturity and guidance.
I talked with Kru Karn again later but she was just as frustrated with them as all the teachers complain about them to her and she doesn’t know what to do. She doesn’t understand why they are still in school as their points in our SchoolBright system have fallen below zero which generally means that they are asked to leave. Kwang’s current score is now -125!
Thankfully, my second class (grade 10s) was much smoother.
Something I learned today?
We have a new teacher teaching English. Her name is Sasha and she’s from Indonesia. She told me that she remembers me from visiting with the exchange program students last year. Her English is good and clear.
It made me wonder who is employing her and how much she is getting paid. I don’t think she speaks Thai, so I’m not sure if she is included as a Thai teacher and will be asked to do all the things that they have to do, too.
Anyway, I told her to ask me anything if she had any questions.
29th Aug 2025 – I’m guessing she must have only been teaching here temporarily as I don’t think I saw her again!
Review your acts, Good and bad.
Today is Nicha’s birthday and I wished her well but I could see that she and her friends may have been expecting something more.
A little later, I popped around to the cafe and bought her back a slice of chocolate cake, for which she was very appreciative and came and gave me a hug.
She’s a good kid. I hope that she finds her place in the world and that it is a good place.
Someone took this picture because these students of mine spent the weekend away doing some kind of activity. Sadly, 4 of them decided not to come to school today and missed my fun movie class. Sad for them anyway…
Joy, belligerent and hypnotic Cast a shadow of charity Over the long promontory A fat man, roly-poly round
Abundance in a city of kindness A broad island for a little boy A fungal cloud, a phoenix A beautiful desiccation
Radiance rose from the river That molten river of fire Gratification of vengeance Narrows victory to defeat
Charity bestowed from wings Of fury fanning the skies Attendant to the goddess of love Love shall burn all
This poem was inspired by the story of Richard Feynman and a phrase taken from his story about three students/assistants that became known as the Three Graces. Researching the Three Graces led me back to Greek Mythology (hence the title and theme of the poem). The image of the phoenix rising is then tied back to the science of the nuclear age and the events of August 1945 in Japan. Nagasaki means long promontory and Hiroshima means broad island and also sometimes city of kindness. The bombs were called little boy and fat man. The phoenix rising highlights the rise of Asia since those events.
Pretty good, getting up at 8 am and soon out for coffee. Whilst at Utopia, I worked on some poetry which came out pretty well, I think.
Without any other real plans for the day, I got myself into my room in the morning and started adding more old 1998 and 2009 entries to the blog.
Revived with lunch, I got back in there and did more, all the while listening to music I’ve downloaded in the past 12 months or so and deciding to either keep or delete. Finally, an hour or so of guitar playing too.
Today I’m grateful for:
My former self for being smart enough to keep some of my old emails that remind me of times past. There is a lot of other stuff that is no longer accessible, though, unfortunately.
The best thing about today was:
Getting a poem highlighted on AllPoetry.com, which was nice to find this morning and generated some extra commenters. I’ve been happy with what I’ve been writing recently and it’s nice to get some positive feedback.
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
This morning I also watched the mini-match of the Swans game and it was obvious within a couple of minutes that it wasn’t going to be a good day for us.
Still top of the table but with 4 losses in the last five games, our form is not inspiring confidence as we come towards the difficult end of the season.
Something I learned today?
Part of the problem with Australia’s high-priced housing is that not enough houses are being built for all the people who are either moving there or looking to move out of their family homes. I was surprised that there were just 170,000 homes built in one year. The lack of availability pushes up rents and house prices.
The average income required to buy a house now is 250K per year but the actual average income is only 120K.
It’s making me wonder where I might end up. Australia is still the most appealing place in the Western world, though. New Zealand may be an option at some point, I suppose.
I took this picture because this new flower in the garden stood out as I walked back into the house this morning.
Tired still, though I didn’t sleep until after 1 am, partly because of my afternoon nap but also because I was playing a game on my phone.
When I stopped playing and saw that it was 1.20 am, I immediately deleted the game! I can’t be using up so much time like that.
Today I’m grateful for:
Amy being back and cooking or buying food for me. I’m short of money again and trying not to spend anything. It will be like this for a couple more months at least. Hang in here, Shaun!
The best thing about today was:
Getting out to my room and thinking about adding old pictures to the blog, which I did a few of today, along with some more old emails and looking through other bits and pieces of writing that I have.
I also listened to a few albums of stuff that I had downloaded, including the old Fusion live tapes. I was perhaps inspired by listening to Per Purpose as I was driving today.
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
I didn’t watch any TV today. But this was on purpose, as I didn’t want to find out the result of the Swans game before being able to watch the mini-match tomorrow.
I did end up watching the movie Inside Out in the evening though as Amy had recommended it and it was enjoyable and I’m curious about the second one and if it could be useful for my students.
Lots of other things were out of my control today but I never let myself get out of control.
Review your acts, Good and bad.
I drove Amy and me around the city so we could eat and visit Mum. Amy loves being a backseat driver and I generally just let it slide, joking today, asking if she would talk to a taxi driver like that. She said I’m not a taxi driver and ‘I can talk to my husband any way I like’ and then, jokingly, gently slapped my face. I guess I’m special!
I took this picture because I spotted this new growth as I was opening the gate.
The song always remains the same (Here we damn well go again!) Everything and nothing is gonna change
Too late and too soon to rearrange Is this even worth the saving? More or less, we’re all misbehaving Every order is rapidly falling apart Started at the end, ended at the start
To the infinite, the future and past Here stand the fallen, the first came at last Every explosion will soon shake the walls Your sons and daughters taking the falls
And we better start off along the creeks Rowing the boats and plugging the leaks Eagles turned vultures pointing their beaks
Alarmed at the words the majority speaks
Criticise the critters, blame all the birds Hold on hope and the rule of thirds Always enough was found wanting more Now comes the battle to settle the score Gone with all reason, gone with the wind In the storm of the season, everyone sinned Never again, again and again, explained Gotta live to see that the times have changed
‘Criticise the Critters’ is from a song by Phantom Tollbooth and ‘Hold on Hope’ is from Guided By Voices. Oh, I suppose I should also say that ‘The Song Remains the Same’ is by Led Zeppelin too.
Tired and bleary-eyed again. I intended to sleep long but Cap woke me up crying at the door to be fed at 8.20 and once up I decided to utilise the time and try to get myself going.
Today I’m grateful for:
Not having anything in particular to do today except hang out washing and bring it in again!
The best thing about today was:
Getting some reading in, a little writing and good coffee to start the day. I spent another three hours or so catching up on sleep at around midday. I’m still looking forward to more sleep tonight.
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
During my afternoon sleep, I was having a vivid dream that I was a teenager in bed, in a bedroom that was my own but not a place that I recognised. I was trying to jerk myself off but constantly conscious that my mum wouldn’t suddenly open the door and catch me and this kept interrupting the thoughts in my imagination that I was trying to get excited about.
It was so vivid that when I briefly came back into consciousness, my imagination was still trying to decide on some kind of sexy scenario and then I started questioning myself, am I actually jerking off whilst dreaming of jerking off?
I fell back into the dream but was unable to continue. Consciousness quickly came again and I turned over in bed wondering if I had been making any noise during all this!
I slept more after this but didn’t return to that dream.
Something I learned today?
I watched a video about an adult gaming company called Nutaku and, through that, learned that about 90% of porn websites (along with Nutaku) are owned by a single company.
Review your acts, Good and bad.
I helped Amy a little bit today as she is under the weather with a cold. I didn’t really interact with many other people today.
I took this picture of Aomsin because she is shy to have her picture taken. She’s an interesting student as she doesn’t usually give much away about her feelings with her facial expressions. It was nice to catch a smile before she hid herself from the camera.
Tired still and not particularly excited for my classes, knowing that many students will be missing for various reasons, disrupting my plans.
I got up ok this morning but feel a lack of energy and my eyes are a little blurry still.
Onwards we must go!
Today I’m grateful for:
A bit of a chilled, busy day due to circumstances described below. I’m still pretty tired at the end of the day but was expecting to feel much more exhausted after six hours in class, then dashing home and soon out again to the airport to pick up Amy. I’m looking forward to sleep but also feeling satisfied with the day.
The best thing about today was:
Falling into the rhythm of the day with only 14 out of 35 students turning up for my first class. The rest were mostly off doing projects and special meetings.
As the class was due to do presentations, this has to be delayed until next week. I figured I’d try to do some pronunciation work with the few students in attendance and settled on a 90-question Quiz about the pronunciation of past tense ‘-ed’ verbs.
At the start, everyone was quite competitive but with so many questions, once they started to understand the rules for this grammar point, they all started deliberately choosing the wrong answers to wind me up.
Suitably satisfied I stopped the quiz halfway and let the kids relax for the rest of the time.
And so it went on, in my next class, about 8 or 10 students were off doing something (which luckily I heard about yesterday and had prepared for) and I did a really simple reading, translation and quiz with the predominantly J-Biz program students.
I even managed to dash off to House for a quick coffee and writing catch-up before my final class with grade 8s and a tough reading challenge for them. I was pleasantly surprised at how well they handled it. Not with the quality of their reading but the fact that they’ve become accustomed with doing what I ask and feel comfortable that I will assist them. It’s a win as far as I’m concerned. If they can’t improve their English, at least their attitude to difficult tasks will improve.
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
I’ve been a little frustrated with waiting on covers for the SpeechOdd/High Voltage split 12”, which Parthiban arranged with Talib in KL. Talib has been out of contact for a few weeks now and I’m sitting on a stack of currently unsellable vinyl until I get these covers.
There’s not much I can do and Parthiban is also frustrated and decided not to work with Talib again. Hopefully, the situation resolves soon.
Something I learned today?
I read an interesting piece about how Buenos Aires was richer and more culturally advanced than any other American city in the early 1900s until the Great Depression, followed by a series of political missteps, which saw it lose its status. There was even a phrase, ‘To wish to be as rich as an Argentinian!’
Review your acts, Good and bad.
Even after my long day of classes, I dropped in on Kru David’s grade 9 class and helped Nicha, Yurin and Tankoon to understand what was required. It felt good to help them and they showed their appreciation with their thanks.
I took this picture because Freya didn’t understand why I was saying ‘Sadako’ when she was fixing her hair, so I put the picture up on the screen and made her stand there too.
1994ever 