Tag: satisfaction

Bucket Lists – 13th March 2025

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

I got bored with my dream, so made another
I realised too late that I didn’t need to bother
Why are we always happy yet never satisfied?
Chasing a bucket list of things never tried

Charlie Zero The Poet Music picks & Reviews #15 and my quick thoughts:

isyouisorisyouaint – Tubeway Army 2019. No guitars!

Sleep Sigil – I dig this because it is ‘out there’. I’ll never listen to it again myself but I appreciate the fact that someone went to the trouble of making this.

vovaOMYT – Kinda cool and interesting. I think I best like the track featuring some dude with the same name as you – haha! Again, appreciate the effort but not for me.

Bent Knee – I thought that I was familiar with Bent Knee but maybe I was confusing them with beNt – who you should check out. You know, I think I have checked this band out before and despite the fact that the girl can sing I really don’t like the style. The music is great in places. Just wish it was a different singer.
Damn – I really do like the music (I’m listening to their first album) so I’m going to give this stuff more of a chance.

Tub Ring – Familiar with already. I dug them back in the day, revisited them a few years ago and didn’t like it so much but then a year or two ago, I listened again and realised I’d made a mistake. Great stuff.

The Scammer – 17th May 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Your promise was a picture book
Of all the losers that we took
Left without a second look
Relieved of all their gold

Then you left along with my share
I couldn’t find you anywhere
You’d taken the time to prepare
To scam me too!

I guess this is my lesson learned
Just rewards were what I earned
The gift of irony returned
Karma’s kicked me in the butt!

Submitted to Ovi Poetry Challenge 48

Today I’m feeling:

Great. Got in a little exercise in the morning and right into it with my classes, armed with a couple of coffees and soon some water, though thankfully the new room I was given has aircon!  Not much of any substance with the classes for now, just a gentle easing in.

I’m thinking that I will also have to get some new lessons together – just based on talks with a few students.  I plan ahead as much as I can but I like to get input from the students about what they want to learn.

Today I’m grateful for:

My new student Sky who helped me get organised for the fact that I will miss my first lesson with her and her classmates on Monday.  I only know her from chatting with her when she was working in the school cafe.

The best thing about today was:

Three of my poorer students really applied themselves today and I was very impressed with their attitude. I also really enjoyed their self-satisfaction when they were able to help others too.

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

Right now, mid-evening, there was a boom outside and suddenly some of our power was gone.  Sounds like some of the dodgy electricity work they’re doing along the road has caused some problems.  We’ve got a little power but it’s fluctuating so we’ve turned most things off for now.

There was a brief storm earlier which has dropped the temperature but it’s still pretty warm.

Nothing much to be done except wait.

Something I learned today?

David McBride blew the whistle on Australians committing war crimes in Afghanistan and now he has been jailed for six years for doing so. There have been no convictions for the actual war crimes.

Australia is also keeping a former US citizen in solitary confinement whilst awaiting extradition – for 16 months already. The charges are fabricated and flimsy at best.

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

Whilst I was teaching my second class Kru Tang came past and asked me if I could teach a couple of extra hours for one of the classes as their course will finish in July.  I was a little miffed as I already teach more than the other teachers but she said she knew that but was trying to fix a problem.

Anyway, I’m happy to teach so I agreed (it’s only for a few weeks effectively) and seriously joked with her about looking out for me when the time comes, when I’m sure to be in trouble for something or other.

One Way To Look At Three Cats – 15th February 2023

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 1 Comment

Among a single soft bed
Nothing stirs except
The slow rise and fall as the cats breathe

Their three minds
Like closed doors
To the bedroom containing three cats

Awake, stretch, turn and re-settle
These times of little drama

Two cats slumber together
As one
Three cats slumber together
As one

No favouritism at the sight
Each purrs with affection
Soft eyes stare at mine
Before closing again
To mouse dreams

inspired by the first five stanzas of Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird by Wallace Stevens

Today I’m feeling:

Reasonably happy and satisfied.

Today I’m grateful for:

A little breeze this evening that will hopefully blow away some of this smoky polluted air. The forecast is for many days of storms but with a 0% chance of rain! (As I finished writing this with Kim sitting on my lap there was a peal of thunder and the sound of rain on our roof! Hooray! Kim has gone back to sleep under the doona!)

The best thing about today was:

Relaxing a little with my grade 8 classes. I didn’t push them too much and allowed the class to end early knowing that I can test them on the work on Friday. My afternoon grade 7 class though was more taxing as they looked at me blankly when I asked them to find the verbs in some sentences, not knowing what a verb was until I gave them the Thai translation for the word ‘verb’!

This is another lesson for me to re-evaluate what and how I teach next year. I’m almost fully resigned now to let the students keep their phones, making each lesson very simple, with some element of artistic output so that the result can look good at least and then I will just grade the students on whether they do the work or not.

Having said that I hope that next year’s classes are of a similar level of comprehension at least. I feel like I’m at the point of just giving in to the easy way out. To make my life easier.

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

This is more a continuation of the above but many of my students today still lack a serious comprehension of (what I generally consider) simple tasks and instructions, or even just making connections throughout what we have already studied this semester. I’m feeling resigned.

But I did come home with the knowledge that I need to change my approach. If I have to make life easier for my students, I have to make it easier for myself too.

Something I learned today?

A recent poll found that 56% of Taiwanese people distrust the USA and worry that they could be in the middle of a potential war that they didn’t ask for.

What small task brings me satisfaction?

What is a small task? Exercise? Feeding the cats? Reading? Cutting nails?

Ok, I’m going to say vacuuming my floors and washing my sheets. I can go do a long time without doing either so I do feel satisfied with a clean floor and fresh-smelling sheets.

Aing took this picture last week because I was the only one of us brave/dumb enough to jump into the waterfall. I only just got this picture and was quite shocked at how big the waterfall is and how small I am in comparison.

Dib Dib Dib – 15th September 2022

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

There’s a hard winter coming
Are you ready for the chill?
Stock up the cellars
Bring the herd down from the hill
Wrap yourself in the comforts
Of a trouble gladly shared
Tie the boats up to the shore
And hunker down prepared

I think I could stand anything, an suffering, only to be able to say and to repeat to myself every moment, ‘I exist.’

Dostoevsky

Today I’m grateful for:
Having the freedom, available space and time to be able to talk to students in my classes today in ones, twos and threes. It is entirely a better way for me to get a clearer idea of their abilities and also relieve their pressures around making mistakes. It’s not possible to do this all the time but I’m glad I decided to do it today.
The best thing about today was:
Just a general sense of well-being and contentment. Nothing stands out more than anything else.

I took this picture because it will remind me of the cheap delicious food at Oasis.

Why don’t you do something, at least get out of our way – 6th June 2020

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Tiananmen – America burns – irony, oh the ironing – where did that phrase come from?

Core is useless – short plank – five reverse situps and 16 bike, at least I know it’s something I can improve.

Smoky air today despite lots of rain, coughing phlegm – neck sore from sleep – would like my neck to be free from pain – been a problem for so many years now. Look up neck exercises.

Still Heavy Vegetable* on the iMind player. Foot massage yesterday, good but ineffective – need every day! I can’t breathe anymore – I can’t see through these lenses.*

Fat Tigger purring in my arms – still eager to get down. No lap cats in my life. Maya and Inca.

Little garden changes – making a home.

Okay – some weights. Slowly, slowly changing body.

*was actually Thingy’s Ketchup Sandwich

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful to discover so many things that I enjoy. They keep my brain satisfied.

To-do list

  • Read more – finish book this weekend ✅
  • Record another TCRAH if you feel it
  • Listen to Rudimentary Peni ✅
  • Practice mini zine making
  • Scan some photos

Weird day. Felt very good throughout but very unfocused – I couldn’t decide what I wanted to do but ended up finishing a book which was a good result.

Amy got annoyingly drunk by the early evening – but not annoying so much because she was drunk but I got quickly annoyed with her – I think because I couldn’t focus and wanted to – then when she came and distracted me more – I got unreasonably annoyed. I ended up doing more jigsaw which at least maintained my focus.

Then, around 7.30 pm there was a short in our electricity in the house that we couldn’t fix – which sobered Amy up quickly! We couldn’t get anyone to come and look so had to sleep in my room which still had power.

Slept ok but woke up with a cranky back – probably from lifting blocks in the morning and then hunched over the jigsaw for a couple of hours.