Tag: parents

Father To Son – 5th August 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

It was never true, that all I knew
Was everything or there about
I let you believe, and so you did
I never left you any doubt

There’s always advice I’ll give you
Do with that as you so desire
As we move away, we closer get
Until it’s your turn to inspire

I hope you’ll be a better version
I’ll head toward my obsolescence
Thanks for all the fish my friends
Good luck with your adolescence

Inspired by this post at The Red Hand Files

Today I’m feeling:

A little run-down but forcing myself through with what little energy I have. My stomach is sore from all the medicine but hopefully I’m on the up from here.

Today I’m grateful for:

The welcome students gave me when I joined them at the exchange student ceremony this morning and even before that. Students I don’t even know wanted fist bumps today. That was nice.

I’m also grateful to Kru Ning for inviting me to sit with the teachers for the ceremony but I preferred to be with the students anyway, mostly because it meant that I could sneak out easily when I wanted to.

Also, Kru Pooky sent a message warning that the teachers from other countries may visit during my classes in the afternoon, with my two noisiest classes but thankfully no one came in the end.

The best thing about today was:

After sneaking out from the ceremony, I ended up talking with Mee and Rista a little while they were avoiding doing Kru David’s work. Mee told me that she is sad with herself because she doesn’t understand the English work that she is doing as extra classes outside of school. I tried to encourage her but I think that she doesn’t have the self-motivation to push herself through.

I also ended up helping Nong Fah to find the correct answers, which she appreciated.

What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?

The pharmacy was shut at Big C today and the supermarket also had a disappointing selection of expensive muesli. The bread shop had also run out of the Korean chewy cheese bread I like but I did manage to grab the last two sesame ones. I’ll keep checking back in.

Something I learned today?

Malaysia issued a travel warning for its citizens thinking about travelling to the UK, due to the demonstrations and riots there, which seem to be focusing on immigrant populations.

She Is Beautiful, They Said – 4th July 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 8 Comments

Somehow, she deals gently with her blues
A feathery kind an introvert would choose
All told her that she is beautiful and smart
She counters she has no confidence at heart

A common theme for sure, though this poem is about one student of mine in particular. I could have gone on writing but I think I managed to sum it all in these four lines.
Submitted to WDYS #243, Writer’s Workshop Prompts – counter, Word the Day Challenge – introvert and Moonwashed Weekly Prompt – Feathery blues

Today I’m feeling:

Pretty good again. I got up and exercised, the 20-minute video workout again, not feeling quite as strained after finishing this time.

Once at school, Baipad, Apple, and Ploy were excited about a new game, and I also later downloaded it and played a bit tonight to see what it was all about.

It looks really good, but trying to follow everything on the small phone screen just makes my eyes ache.  I can’t imagine what it is doing to children’s eyes, with them playing for hours on end.

After my morning coffee time, I had the pleasure of teaching the grade 12 kids, who are getting more into what I’m teaching them and also doing quite well.

With my younger kids, their blank stares usually indicate no understanding, but the older kids’ blank stares are them thinking!  Part of my class today was about showing enthusiasm in their conversation.

Today I’m grateful for:

Not teaching my second class as the classroom was in use for next week’s competition preparation.  I assigned the students some writing work to keep them busy for a little while, and was able to skip out an hour earlier than usual.

The best thing about today was:

Having the grade 12 students use the website that Kru Tang told me about today, and seeing the happiness on a few of their faces when they achieved relatively good scores testing their speaking.  

I will get them to test themselves each week, and hopefully they will be able to see their own improvement over time.

Something I learned today?

Parents have complained to the school that the teachers are not teaching their classes because they are too busy preparing for next week’s competition, just handing out worksheets instead.  I think the parents would complain even more if they actually saw what goes on in the classrooms!

Review your acts, Good and bad.

Spain turned up for class even though I had given them some writing work to do.  He ended up following me around the school as I went checking up that the kids were doing their work.

Spain is a funny kid.  He was some form of something or other, I wouldn’t like to say what, which seems to affect his social skills. With me today, though, he was nonstop talking, and I was quite impressed with his English skills.  He struggles to make friends because of the way he is, but deep down, he’s a nice boy with a good heart.

Tonaor took this picture because she saw me passing by and shouted ‘selfie’, and everyone else came running out.  From top right: Fah, me, Mei, Tonaor, August, Namthip, Namkhing, Nicha, Dena. Sadly, after three years of being in the ‘Talented English Program’, they can barely speak any English between them! Somehow, we’ve been able to bond and communicate with each other, though.

Derelict – 18th October 2022

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Smashed windows and roof decayed
A place where memories were once made
Now hidden to the exploring eye
Possibilities came here now gone by

One day the love in my own home
Will be left to explorers unknown
Pondered upon with little idea
Of all the things that happened here

The tiles will crack and ceilings fall
Jungle vines will creep up the wall
The once-pretty garden overrun
Plastic disintegrates in the sun

The roaming ghosts of our happy cats
No longer worry the scurrying rats
Body broken as the irons rust
Will all be blown away as dust

I think perfection is ugly. Somewhere in the things humans make, I want to see scars, failure, disorcer, distortion.

Yohji Yamamoto

Today I’m feeling:
Chill chill
Today I’m grateful for:
A long catch-up sleep with interesting but forgotten dreams. I also woke up with no pain in my neck but that didn’t last for too long.
The best thing about today was:
Its simplicity and feeling contented with a day of non-excitement. A little bit of this and that counters any possibility of boredom. I feel free!
In what ways are you “just like your parents?”
I am just like my mum now. It’s scary how much I look like her. Right now I live by myself (practically) and love to read books, much like she did. I don’t need to be around people often and happy in my own company, just as I saw her. I don’t think I can be much like my dad as I have no idea if he had any influence over me in my first 18 months before he died. I wonder though if there was a residual sadness that brushed on me in that short time…?

I took this picture because it just looked idyllic as I was speeding by and had to turn back to take a quick picture. This one is from yesterday. I didn’t really do anything today.

So It Goes – 29th September 2022

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 1 Comment

Moulded from broken sticks and mud
Bones wrapped in skin and filled with blood
Then lightning sparked man’s first feeling
And his survival seemed to be appealing

First, they fought over each other’s bread
Dashing rocks upon the head
Next, they fought over bits of dirt
The winners inflicting the most hurt

Then they fought over their beliefs
Despite the meetings of bigger chiefs
Fought and fought, spilt so much blood
Until the last was buried back in the mud

Not everything is something.

?

Today I’m feeling:
Tired but contented.
Today I’m grateful for:
My hammock, where I could enjoy a little cooling breeze as I did some school work and read a little before having a snooze.
The best thing about today was:
Sitting in the chair at the front of the house as the sun set and the sky darkened, as I drank a refreshing lemonade and enjoyed the neutral air on my skin. I sat and savoured this time as it may never happen again.
What three things did I accomplish today?
1. I finished adding attendance records for all my classes for the whole semester even though it was such short notice.
2. I finished reading A Portrait of Shunkin, a strange short story from Japan. It was evocative and provocative. I loved it.
3. I fixed up a little bit more in the garden. I’m too slow to keep it under control but I like to do a little bit here and there.

I took this picture because Anchan wanted more selfies but the main point here is that I was telling my students here about Hayden, as they asked me questions about my family. Yok is the boy sitting opposite me at the back and he was especially curious. He asked when I last saw Hayden and I said it was 3 years ago. Yok wrote (all this was using translation) that he was sorry and that he was rooting for me) and then he asked if I loved Hayden (presumably because it had been so long since seeing him) and I said ‘yes of course.’ Sadly, Yok then told me that his parents don’t care about him at all. I replied in translation ‘your teacher is rooting for you.’

The Diary That Was – 31st December 1979

Doing It Again – 12th September 2022

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

We’re making the mistakes all over again
It seems that we’ll never learn
Forgetting that setting the world on fire
Means you’ll have to watch it burn

History won’t help if we soon forget
The lessons it helped us learn
Don’t be afraid to let the past go
When it’s someone else’s turn

6th Nov 2024 – Shared with Word of the Day Challenge – vote

Our moral thinking is much more like a politician searching for votes than a scientist searching for truth.

Jonathan Heidt, The Righteous Mind

Today I’m grateful for:
Amy’s mum and dad coming over in the morning with jump leads so that I could start my car and get to work before my first class. Also to Fui for supplying a new battery with a minor discount.
The best thing about today was:
Being with my lovely annoying students again. I love them all in their own ways.

I took this picture because Tangmo is a lovely smelly droopy-eyed dopey dog who loves to come and visit to get strokes and biscuits.

Pot Of Gold – 3rd September 2022

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

We’re acting our age, growing up
Got our emotions under control
The highs and lows have come and gone
And we’re finally feeling whole
We’re no longer chasing rainbows
We know what’s at their end
The pot of gold is here and now
With a lifetime left to spend

Beware of those who seek constant crowds; they are nothing alone.

Charles Bukowski

Today I’m grateful for:
Amy’s parents for delivering me food and fruit this morning. I was sleeping and I found it with surprise at our door.
The best thing about today was:
Watching Sydney play a fantastic game of football that was tense and exciting.

I took this picture because it caught my eye though I didn’t look closely at it. Looking at it now I guess it’s a painting based on the position of stars. I’m not even sure where I took this or if it’s a screenshot.

Paint It White – 11th August 2022

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Blocked out, little emotion left inside
No meaning carries a meaning that’s implied
Words left unsaid, let actions speak louder
Paint it all white and sprinkle it with powder
Every town’s memory, slowly being removed
Every complex conspiracy, slowly being disproved
We’re gonna make it right through to the end
Paint it all white to signal the angel to descend

We all believe we are masters in the realms of opinion and reasoning.

Robert Greene

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful for all the food Amy and her parents made that is in my freezer. I can eat cheaply for many days.

Next Life – 25th July 2022

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Always thinking about the next life
As if that will be the roses you expect
Forget the work, turn down the effort
It’s an internal rejection that you accept

There are moments when one has to choose between living one’s own life, fully, entirely, or dragging out some false, shallow degrading existence that the world in its hypocrisy demands.

Oscar Wilde

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful to have a nice early dinner of special food at Amy’s parents, joined by Takky, Nut and Bruno. It was a pleasant evening with lots of chat.

Together Again Today – 14th July 2022

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 1 Comment

Both on our way
By the end of the day
– A feeling we’ll no longer miss
It’s been a while
Since sharing our smile
– And feeling so gentle a kiss
When we are not there
We know we still care
– Each other we’re thinking of
Wrapped in each other
Like arms of a mother
– The comforts of deepest love

The older you get, the smarter your parents get.

David Foster Wallace, paraphrasing

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful for the choices we have. On the 11th I wrote that Amy’s mum and dad would come and look after our cats but now Aing is back in Chiang Rai and her and Now will be able to do it for us.

The Week That Was – 23rd September 1979

Castrated – 11th July 2022

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 1 Comment

No time for making babies
Taking care of all their needs
Better to have a dog or cat
And stop it spreading its seeds
Need a friend, not a kid
Even if they are naughty
You can get one when you want
Even if you are forty
But don’t let those suckers breed
There’s enough already
The world doesn’t need more
Just enough to remain steady

If you treat an individual as he is, he will stay as he is, but if you treat him as if he were what he ought to be and could be, he will become what he ought to be and could be.

Goethe

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful to Amy’s mum and dad (again!). They will come and feed our cats whilst we are in Bangkok for three days.