Tag: Ploy

Little Miss Imperfect – 16th February 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 2 Comments

It was a missing tooth
Some wayward hair
A smudge of a nose
That almost wasn’t there

It was a crooked smile
Dry cracked lips
An inch too much
Sitting on her hips

It was a minor lisp
One leg longer
A scarred wrist
Now grown stronger

No, she’s not perfect
As far as all could see
But it’s all those little faults
That has attracted me

Today I’m feeling:

Pretty good.  I did some chest and arm exercises this morning, trying to avoid straining my shoulder and also hanging for a minute to stretch myself out.  Had my first cold morning shower of the year, which was a bit of a challenge but sure woke me up properly.

Today I’m grateful for:

Nong Ploy for saying that she wishes I was still her teacher because she enjoys writing in English the most, which is something I like to have the students practice.  And then have them read from what they’ve written.

The best thing about today was:

The winding down and relaxing feeling of the end of the semester.  

I was trying to put myself in my student’s shoes about how they must feel each day, being amongst their friends at school all day and then going home to their families each evening.  They obviously enjoy being at school and being with their friends but suffer the having to study part of that.  

I was trying to remember what it was like for me at their age.  Usually, I was excited to get out of school because when I got home I was usually out again after eating dinner and having even more fun with my friends.  

The situation here feels different both because of the family set-up in many homes and the availability of mobile phones and internet.  It makes for an experience that I only understand as an adult, not as a growing child.

Something I learned today?

“OpenAI’s latest model takes text prompts and turns them into ‘complex scenes with multiple characters, specific types of motion,’ and more, the company said.

The text-to-video model allows users to create photorealistic videos up to a minute long – all based on prompts they’ve written.”

As AI improves, and it seems to be doing so quickly, this could go either way.   Folks could create and post anything that conforms to their narratives.  

For example, the BBC could post footage of concentration camps in Xinjiang, where they keep insisting they exist.  People could easily believe it, especially when it is reinforced with pictures and videos.  

However, I also want to look on the positive side that due to this new capability journalists will be forced to detail, verify, check and double-check and be held legally accountable for what they publish.  It’s optimistic but that is the way it must go.

Review your acts, and then for vile deeds chide yourself, for good be glad. — Discourses 3.10

At the morning flag ceremony KanomBang was crying heavily as her beloved dog had died.  She was inconsolable so I just put my arm around her and gently patted her arm.  Other students were still laughing and playing and I’m not sure what they were saying but Nomsen gave her some sympathy and support too.  She was ok by the afternoon and showed me a picture of her dog and told me it had been hit by a motorbike which is a common occurrence here unfortunately.

I called and messaged Khaofang as her jumper was in the classroom where she lost it the day before yesterday.  When she came to collect it she was very appreciative.

What was peaceful about today?

It’s difficult to find peace when you are surrounded by thousands of students. So perhaps the first hour of the day, having just woken up and quietly brushing my teeth before going to exercise, feeding the cats and then hopping into the shower, all the while the sky slowly lightening into the morning bloom.  Then I eat some breakfast whilst reading a little and the sun finally appears over the mountains and it’s time for the peace to end.

At the end of the day, post-shower and into bed.  Amy on her side, me on mine and Cap swapping between us, Amy quietly scrolls through Facebook and I read books and comics until we both give in to the joy of sleep.

25 THINGS ABOUT LIFE I WISH I HAD KNOWN 10 YEARS AGO –  18. Give Without Expecting Something in Return. Don’t keep score. You will become a bitter person if you do that. Give solely for the joy of giving. If you get something in return, great, if you don’t, great.

I may not give out too much but I expect and want little from anyone else.  

Over the last few years, I have started giving out gifts as random acts of kindness and my only hope would be that the receiver will pass on the kindness to someone else.  

Whether they do or not is out of my control.

What was my Ween discovery timeline?

I had read about Ween often in Flipside and was curious when their first album God Ween Satan came out so I picked up a copy.  It started off well and punky with You Fucked Up but I was unprepared for everything else that came on the rest of the album.  Slowly it worked its wackiness on me and I enjoyed its eclecticism over time.  

So when the second LP, The Pod,  came out I was looking for more of the same and it didn’t deliver for me.  This seemed like weird droning moaning music and so I gave up on them, even selling both discs.

I occasionally heard them on the radio when I was living in Australia with their ‘hit’s Push The Little Daisies and Voodoo Lady but didn’t think on much further about them.

Around 2010 sometime, my friend in Melbourne, James McGauren had met and fallen in love with a Swedish girl and was making the move there and he decided to sell off a big chunk of his music collection.  He had all the Ween albums.  

Fuck it, I thought, I’ll give these guys a go again and picked up the whole catalogue for cheap.  Slowly I worked my way through each album and fell in love with them all.  I scoured the internet to find quality live shows and all their demo recordings and ended up with about 50 discs worth of Ween to enjoy.

Listening back to The Pod these days, I can understand why I didn’t enjoy it at the time but now I rate it as a favourite.  

I never saw them live but have their live DVD and whilst I appreciate their entertainment abilities I prefer the quirkiness of their records.

I took this picture because this old man was looking relaxed when I got home.
Fatman report

I Can’t Feel My Wings – 20th January 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

I lay down and try to breathe
Because I can’t feel my wings
Why did I wake up this way?
Am I paying for my sins?
What’s the cost to going mad?
I’m hollowed out inside
I want this curse lifted off me
I want my wings, I want to fly
It’s been a long time
Being, a long time

Inspired and words re-arranged from this post by Tomic Riter

Today I’m feeling:

Quite relaxed and happy.  I was excited to go for a little bike ride, my psyche somehow understanding that I needed to be out in nature, getting some Vitamin D and picking up the green light reflections of the fields and jungle.

Today I’m grateful for:

My old student Praewa.  A couple of weeks ago she posted a picture from outside her house and I recognised it as a place not that far from where I live.  As I had planned for a bike ride this morning I figured I would head out in that direction towards the river, east from home, and drop in and say hello on the way.

When I messaged her though she said she wasn’t home but to come and find her where she was.  She sent me a map and it wasn’t far away from where I was heading anyway so I figured why not.

I found out that they have a grocery shop at their house and there was some kind of fun sporting event for kids going on and Praewa’s mum had set up a stall to sell refreshments.

When I got there I finally found them and it seemed like the whole family was there – mum, brother, auntie, grandmum and great grandmum!  I declined the offer of a beer, it was still before noon, though that didn’t stop Praewa’s mum from starting already!

I had a look around and in another stall, two students yelled out my name.  I don’t teach them but I recognised them from saying hello around school.  Then I spotted another student I know who was partaking in the event on the track.  She is always friendly when I see her but usually not excited or showing too much emotion but today she was laughing a lot as the race they were doing was a team event where the first in line had to pull on a big pair of baggy knickers over their clothes, run up the track and back and then swap the knickers with the next in line.

Her team won and they were happy.  When I went to say hello she was very surprised to see me there.  I congratulated her team.

The next thing I knew, Momo was walking past with some snacks.  I caught up with her and met her mum.  I asked Momo why she wasn’t competing and she said she didn’t want to be there but her mum forced her to come.

Finally, Cream came and joined Praewa and they took off to the bouncy castle slide.  They are still 14 or 15 years old but I don’t think either of them is even 5ft tall so they can still get away with playing on such things.  I bid everyone farewell and thankfully my bike started ok and I rode off around the place feeling happy to see what some of my students get up to outside of school and grateful that Praewa invited me to come.

The best thing about today was:

Riding to newer parts of the valley with a deep blue sky directly overhead (not so much on the horizons) and waterlogged paddies reflecting that, dotted with bright young green rice stems.  I took a moment to savour it all.

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

I planned for a bike ride this morning after coffee but the bike isn’t starting. I’m sitting here in the sun for a minute hoping that it will warm up the bike and that it might magically start. Otherwise, it means wheeling it to the shop which is manageable but not what I’d planned for. Any costs to fix it are going to be painful too.

Thankfully, I finally managed to kickstart it and let it run for ten minutes before heading out.

Review your acts, and then for vile deeds chide yourself, for good be glad. — Discourses 3.10

I reminded myself to message Ploy to ask how she did on her test today.  She said she felt confident which I’m glad about.

I took this picture because this young corn was so green. I’ve enjoyed running through cornfields, back in England, during the summer there, alongside the river Stour. It felt like a strange freedom, hidden from view in a minor trespass. 

What You Learned – 11th January 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

A mother’s love, so strong and true
The guiding hand was not guiding you
A little Emporer enjoys the spoils
Whilst the princess humbly toils

Slowly the empire will expand
And falls away any guiding hand
Is what you learned enough to rule
The head and heart of a simple fool?

Today I’m feeling:

Unsure.  Last night I could feel an oncoming tickle in my throat, I thought, perhaps from burning garbage smoke in the air.  I slept early and woke up feeling ok but with more of a sore throat.  There are a few sick students again recently, including Baipad and Apple who I see on most mornings. 

Now, mid-way through the day I’m feeling on the edge.  I could either recover and be ok by tomorrow or this will snowball into a full-blown flu or cold.  Trying to stay positive through whatever happens.

Today I’m grateful for:

The almond croissant that Amy bought and we shared today.  I’m not that into them so I wouldn’t usually buy one for myself but I found it sweet and tasty, a good post-dinner dessert this evening.

The best thing about today was:

At the end of my extra class with the grade 10s today I asked 4 of the students if the work was ok and they told me they enjoyed it and it was fun.  I was happy to hear that.  I had fun teaching it too.

Something I learned today?

The shortest war in history was between Britain and Zanzibar on August 27, 1896. Zanzibar surrendered after 38 minutes.

Review your acts, and then for vile deeds chide yourself, for good be glad. — Discourses 3.10

As normal, I guided a few struggling students through their work and thought perhaps that they needed some extra information that would help them with this in the future.  I think I had an expectation that they already understood this grammar (present simple verbs, positive and negative) but whilst a few knew it, many did not.  I need to make the lesson a little clearer if I decide to use it again.

I took this picture because I’d been asking Ploy, who is now in grade 9, to draw another picture of me as the previous one she did was two years old already. I like it though it is way more handsome than the real me!

Big Cat Meet – 10th March 2023

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

What is it? What is that?
It seems like an oversized cat
Sniffing and lurching as a pet
And yet….

Fear arose at eyes meeting
Ears pound with heart beating
Comes the rush of approach
I lay down my body, defeating
Please! No eating!

A sniff, a purr, a tentative pat
Mutual understanding of where we’re at
A roll and a push, off excited
I too, soon alighted

Whisper at your feral fears
Into the eyes, through the tears
Roll over as if to submit
Here where the big cats sit

inspired by a dream of meeting an unknown type of big cat in a park

Today I’m feeling:

Happy, relaxed, maybe even bored!

Today I’m grateful for:

Febreeze and its feeble attempts at masking the still-rank cat pee smell on my mattress. It’s doing its best.

The best thing about today was:

Testing out the Quizizz lesson I put together yesterday with Ploy and Praewa. They enjoyed it and I learned a few things from practising it with them. I need to add a little more detail and tweak a few things.

However, the concept may be good but I think the level is too high for my M1 classes. I will look for easier lessons to put together in the same way over the holidays.

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

Still dark, lost in a dream world, a thud and a scream sit me bolt upright as Cap and Tigger, a ball of furry yin and yang roll over me, their combined weight slamming down at my hip.

I grab the darker fury but cannot pull them apart, interlocked they are in a vicious grip. A second pull and a broken claw embeds itself in my finger and finally, they are separated and I fling the fuming ball across the bed but this doesn’t stop them and they reassume attack positions in the living room.

Good morning, Shaun, it’s a lovely day though there’s no daylight apparent.

Finally, the fighters back down and I return to my soft bed hot and awake. I check the time. 4 minutes until my alarm. I get up and shake the doona back into place and clumps of fur float through the still air.

Ok, let’s go.

Something I learned today?

Some private chats with a couple of my students helped me to learn a little more about their situations. With there being no classes and fewer kids around school everyone is a little more relaxed and open these last few days.

What is my favourite memory from childhood?

I’m going to say it was the common spirit we village kids had.

Forced together by location we went through all the usual ups and downs a group of teenagers would. Being out in the sticks with little street lighting, we entertained ourselves with endless hours of mischief, fire and explosions.

There’s not one specific memory that stands out but as I bring those thoughts to mind many more flood back and the joy of that childhood camaraderie remains special to me.

I took this picture because I was lazily reading in my hammock when these neighbours’ kids appeared and started blah blah blahing in Thai at me. They usually come in around this time every day adding our garden as part of their playground. If I’m watering I’ll spray them to hear their screams and laughter.