Everyone is so cynical
Opinionated, clinical
Fallen from the pinnacle
And waiting to expire
We’re all gonna die, what’s the point?
Who cares who the kings may anoint?
Sing a song, smoke another joint
Around the old campfire
Written for Ovi’s Challenge – Negativity. Titled borrowed from Nuisance.
Today I’m feeling:
Better but still tired out. I took it easy with my first class but I was still exhausted by the end of it. No exercise this morning either so that is now five days without. I will try to do it tomorrow. I usually feel better in the evenings than in the mornings though. Let’s see.
Today I’m grateful for:
My former self of last week for planning ahead and quickly making up some cards for a quick vocabulary game with my grade 10s. I wasn’t sure exactly how I was going to incorporate it in the class but I figured out a way to make it fun and engaging for everyone.
The best thing about today was:
Gradually getting my mojo back during the day and being able to not push myself or the students too much to stress ourselves out.
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
With half of my grade 7 classes missing this week I’ve had to adapt myself to just playing Kahoots about the topic that we were on and making it as fun as possible whilst not putting any pressure on about punctuality and paying complete attention.
Something I learned today?
I forced myself to listen through a podcast of a couple of North American China Hawks discussing what the best way forward was for the USA to deal with China.
It reminded me that at the highest levels of Western governments, people cling to their ideology without growth or learning. Some of the commentary had me contemplating just skipping it but I wanted to hear more opposition to the things I believe and to try to understand where some people are coming from.
Review your acts, and then for vile deeds chide yourself, for good be glad. — Discourses 3.10
Anchan skipped my class today to prepare for a national (I think) competition for a speech in Thai. She sent me a message to say why she wasn’t there and I wished her the best.
She also reminded me it was her birthday today and so I bought some sweet snacks for her and her friends. They were so cheap that there were so many of them that when I got back to school and my next class, Nemo said that it was her birthday too and so I gave her one pack.
I later tracked Anchan down in another building and gave her the rest of the snacks. She laughed because there were so many but appreciated them too. Whilst I was there, many students wished her a happy birthday and I was surprised by all the people who knew her.
I can understand her popularity though. She is a smart kid who, in my own class, I have seen make friends with almost everyone, investing time in them (and calling out ones that treat others badly). I warned her once last year not to get dragged into the bad crowd and whether she heeded that or not, she worked out what was best and was still able to maintain friendships with them. I could sense what she was capable of and she has even surprised me with her skills. Except English!
I also offered to teach Baipad, along with Apple and Jan, during the holidays if they wished. I know that this will be a struggle to get them to commit to but also maybe get them to see that this is free education that they are being offered. It would also give me something else to do apart from playing XBOX for four weeks straight!
Who would I like to reconnect with?
In some ways, I’d like to reconnect with my school friends just to get memories and stories from them from when we were at school. It’s kind of interesting to discover what ever happened to everyone but at the same time, I don’t care that much either. That seems weird to write down but I’ve lived almost forty years without knowing what happened to everyone it just doesn’t seem that relevant.
I always want to connect with people in the DIY punk scene in South East Asia though and would love to find another kindred spirit in the same way that Kimi was. Parthiban in Singapore is the nearest I have but we’ve only been able to hang out one time previously.
I should also reconnect with folks in Australia, which I do do from time to time but I’m thinking I should chat with Swerve again as we spent a lot of time working on things in the late 00’s and had a lot of fun. There are also plenty of bands that I’ve worked with that I don’t have much contact with these days too. I should get back to that.
![](https://1994ever.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/794918909b8c38615453b075e5793baf.jpeg?w=768)