Cold eyes watch the quiet shuffle
Into the box of hungry confession
A crust of bread, two glasses of water
A dogmatic ritual obsession
Mary and St John aside the cross
Glare ominous at this loathsome boy
Bowing down, accepting absolution
Returning soon cleansed with joy

*based on Anton Chekov’s In Passion Week

Today I’m feeling:

Happy though I have a runny nose and feel a little run down.

Today I’m grateful for:

My students Nice and Stamp keeping me up to date with their classmates’ news and gossip, though it made me a little sad to see them all splitting up at the end of the semester.

The best thing about today was:

Getting my work permit sorted without any waiting time or problem.

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

Baitoey decided to tell her mum that she went to the hospital and that I took her. Her mum then called the school to ask if they knew about this and eventually Kru Tongjai contacted me about it. She said that she has to be informed if any of her students go outside the school just in case anything happens, which I understand. The thing is that I didn’t know who I should have contacted at the time and I wondered if Baitoey would have still wanted me to take her to the hospital if she had to tell Kru TJ first. I knew it was a delicate situation and could cause me trouble but I considered Baitoey’s trust and health first.

Something I learned today?

Talking with Nice today she told me about her own battles with her mental health and showed me where she had cut herself on her arms. She also mentioned that she didn’t know what to believe about Boss and Baitoey because they have a history of being flexible with the truth. It did make me consider that perhaps they had lied to me but I don’t think so. Even if things weren’t quite as they said they are still obviously having issues and maybe not sure how to express themselves.

What values will guide my choices this year?

Fairness, kindness, understanding. As generalisations at least! What choices will I face? There are none of significance on the immediate horizon.