Tag: Selfie

Straying – 24th May 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 3 Comments
Pic: Jon Tyson

Cat wild
On the wall
One eye open
Preying
An ear to the wind
Poised and small
A sniff to the spraying

Fight or flight?
Movement slight
Straying
Back arched tall
Hissing
Saying

Get out of town
Or chased on down
Rolled up into a ball
No longer playing

Picture prompt for WDYS # 239

Today I’m feeling:

Pretty good considering that I was dead to the world until my alarm went off this morning.  Managed some exercise and a 5-minute (what could possibly be described as a) meditation.

Today I’m grateful for:

Finding that Sydney Swans played yesterday against the Bulldogs and so I watched the Mini Match and happy to report that we pulled through for another win.  The Swans are currently well clear at the top but there’s still a ways to go.

I’m still annoyed that I can’t watch the full matches, especially this year, as we’re doing so well!

The best thing about today was:

In my final class of the day with my grade 8s I have what you might call another ‘rogue’ student.  She, Sugus, is a friend of Aida’s and has been coming to my class occasionally since last year but now she seems to come all the time.

She’s a quiet kid and doesn’t cause any problems for me but I told her that if she wants to stay then she has to do some work, to which she agreed.

Today’s class is an easy reading class and I asked Sugus to come and read for me and she did very well, better than some of my actual students!

So I talked with her some more about why she doesn’t go to her own class and if the teacher isn’t concerned about her.  She couldn’t quite describe why she doesn’t go except that she feels bad when she does.

I’m a bit suspicious that something untoward might have happened but I didn’t push it.

Anyway, I told her that she was welcome to stay in my class and she thanked me and said that my class is fun for her.  I was quite pleased about that.

It’s weird really.  There’s no pressure on her to perform and there’s no pressure on me to teach her.  With us both relaxed about it I think she will learn a lot!

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

For my second class today, with the Hospitality grade 11s I suddenly found 12 extra students!  Without telling me, and without anyone telling them why they have put two different programs together so I’m now teaching students in the Japanese program too.  So much for my plans for this semester!  I guess I’ll jag everything in somehow.

Something I learned today?

Chatting with David he told me that George complained to Nancy that he doesn’t want to teach the new Integrated Program to the grade 10s and so, magically, he no longer is.  Now he only teaches grade 11 and 12.  What a princess!  

Last year he refused to teach grade 9 and now refuses grade 10.  Maybe time is running out for him.

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

This evening I’m still helping my grade 11 students with their presentation homework and replying to their messages.

Did you do something difficult or challenging today?

As I think about it, much of the day was challenging (as described above) but somehow I seemed to take it in my stride.

Tonaor took this picture because as she likes to do sometimes when she sees me she says ‘selfie!’ and so I hand her my phone.

The Feral – 26th December 2023

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Raised in the manner of wolves
Howling at the moon
Running wild in the company of fools
Wide-eyed in chaotic tune

Tamed and reformed by riches
The devil still pulls at the heart
All are affected by witches
The feral rips itself apart

Today I’m feeling:

Pretty good from exercise but still not particularly enthusiastic.  Perhaps due to this month’s struggle with money and its limit on what I’m able to do.

(Later) Things did improve as I spent time at House and then back at school wandering around talking to students everywhere.

Today I’m grateful for:

Kru Ning who seemed happy enough for me to help assist some of the students in her class – my grade 7 kids.  It’s sometimes fun to join another class without there being any pressure and just offer assistance.

The best thing about today was:

Kwang (and Premier and Program) took my arms and led me around the school whilst chattering away with me, so I feel happy that Kwang is comfortable with me again after her episode last week.  I’d really like to talk more deeply with her and get to how she really feels about things.  She’s still covering things up with bravado at the moment, which is not unusual for kids at this age.

Something I learned today?

I watched Alexei Sayle’s Christmas message where, as a Jew, he supports the Palestinians and calls out the Zionists in Israel as absolute liars. Much of the world is in agreement with his sentiment.

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

My students were happy that I cancelled all my classes today.  It was possible that we could still have them but they would be distracted and unfocused with many not even bothering to show up.  I feel slightly guilty though!  Though not guilty enough not to be sitting in the cafe writing this right now!  I will go back to school soon though and play with my students and hang around for an hour or three.

What was the best new thing I tried this year?

Best new thing? I’m not sure I tried any new thing!

Maybe I started using the DuoCards app this year which has been pretty helpful with my language learning.

Fuck, that’s not very exciting, is it!

If you were able to live to the age of 90 and retain either the mind or body of a 30-year-old for the last 60 years of your life, which would you want?

As I’m already past the age of 30 and I can remember what my body was like then perhaps having that body would not be for the best.  I was still skinny at thirty, the beer belly came on over the following ten years.  As to my mind at thirty, I was still on my way at that point.  I still had peaks and troughs that overly affected me.

If we could rephrase the question to be 60 instead of 30 then perhaps I would choose my body now, despite it being older and slower it feels like it has improved and is fitter than before.  My mind is also in a better place….  Damn, this is a difficult choice.  The two are inextricably linked – healthy body, healthy mind….  I think I will go with maintaining the body. 

I’m thinking this because of seeing Grandmum now whose body is almost given up and unable to speak but I can’t help thinking that inside her mind is still sharp and that must be so frustrating.

I took this picture because Nicha wanted a selfie. When I showed her later she said she looked like a pig. At least I hope she was talking about herself.

Honey Latte – 29th November 2023

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 2 Comments

There’s a honey latte running through her head
So sweet and milky, her memory a thread
Not knowing the day, she ventures to the city
Things she thought she knew shined so pretty

Alone, together, the hands are like ghosts
Long gone now, sailed to separate coasts
Eyeing the barista, nails polished black
A laptop hipster, personified slack

She’s a wanna-be adult, yet still sixteen
Smart and serious but remains unseen
Loving the self-loathing, when will she arrive?
Only when she realises she’s always been alive

Wishing for the future and suddenly it’s gone
Standing in the middle of what she wanted for so long
Nothing left to prove, no longer the impostor
Discounted all the time that getting here cost her

Here’s to the memory, the empty honey cup
Close the cafe door, breathe til she’s full up
Treading familiar sidewalks always reveals the change
Yesterday, today and tomorrow always seem so strange

Inspired by this post at Spinning Visions
30th Sep 2024 – Shared with Word of the Day Challenge – arrive

Today I’m feeling:

A little tired with a headache and cough again. I didn’t sleep well due to discomfort in my shoulders. I woke up and exercised and felt good for that but my eyes are aching again. 

I wondered if part of the problem was connected to the air quality so I checked on the AirVisual app and saw that the quality is already poor and approaching dangerous. Amy has also suddenly got her cough and runny nose back. We will put the air filter in the bedroom tonight.

Today I’m grateful for:

Being able to get paid a little money this month at least. Nancy has figured out some trickery so that I won’t starve just yet.

The best thing about today was:

Finding out that all classes are reduced to 50 minutes for December as kids go off for sports practice at the end of each day. There are also three days off this month. Great.

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

When I got to House I was hanging for coffee but Gui’s machine was broken. I stayed a while doing some lesson checking and planning but couldn’t wait in the end and went around to Hobby coffee and I don’t know if it was just the wait but the first cup I got there tasted of delicious honey. I took a second cup back to school and carried on planning.

Something I learned today?

My old student Fah, who was always a bit of a handful but I was drawn to her because she reminded me of me when I was her age, got kicked out of school last semester due to lack of attendance, work, care etc. I wondered why I hadn’t seen her for a while.

Apparently, she has become even worse since, though she is supposed to be studying at another school.

I think she felt an affinity with me, maybe because I never gave her too much of a hard time and encouraged her more than berated her, every time she saw me, without fail she would give me a big hug.

I hope she makes it out there.

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

I sent Nong Fah (Sonsawan) an encouraging message to keep going with English in the future, using Amy’s story as evidence.

I helped fix many students’ microphone access so that they could read my work today. I’ve managed to figure out on most phones how to change the setting’s language to English and from there allow them microphone access.

When one of my students accidentally mixed up their words today and asked me if I was studying instead of if I was teaching, I told them ‘Yes, I’m always learning!’

I finally got to congratulate Funfai in person and she is very proud of herself for winning four trophies.

Despite being tired and wanting to get home I stayed and played Uno with Kru Ren, Jet, Noah, Lin and Mai after my class had finished and somehow the kids conspired to make sure that the teachers didn’t win. It was a lot of fun.

I gave my last candies to two of my laziest students, trying to buy their attention for our next class!

Rista asked if we could make Christmas cards in our class again like we did last year. Well, I don’t see why not?

I took this picture because as Tonaor and Nicha were on their way to their next class they suddenly shouted out ‘selfie’ and this was the result. I’d forgotten about it until now.

They Shook Hands – 14th November 2022

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Smiling for the camera
Deceptive poker plays
Air pushed in translation
No thunder today

Arm wrestle the future
Knives behind backs
Until advantage found
In what the other lacks

Back to the big oak table
For diplomatic fire
Promises made and broken
As new demands require

All the hands now shaken
To sighs of relief
Yet rendered in denial
And insincere belief

31st Mar 2024 – Submitted to Ragtag Daily Prompt

I shall vomit back onto my contemporaries the disgust they inspire in me…

Gustav Flaubert

Today I’m feeling:
Pretty good though my students were very raucous today.
Today I’m grateful for:
The guy at the food stall who gave me a sesame-covered glutinous rice ball to try as I went out after class with the kids to get snacks.
The best thing about today was:
Getting the ironing done before Amy is back. I don’t want her to feel that she has to iron my shirts. Time went quick enough as I watched videos whilst doing them.
Daily thought
An example of good coming from a bad experience.
When going through the bad experience you feel as if nothing good could ever come out of that sick feeling. It is only on reflection that growth is recognised. Bad experiences include getting dumped and cheated on, being treated with contempt by bosses, and being made a scapegoat. To think about recent times would be how my first two teaching experiences dealing with the administrative system totally sucked but out of that I ended up where I am now where I am much happier.
Do you have a life partner?
Oh yes indeed. My lovely little Amy.

I took this picture because this is what happens when the kids take my phone to take pictures with. Bless them.

Selfie – 20th July 2022

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Another selfie makes us unhealthy
Pic after pic makes us sick
Mental disaster, depressing faster
A selfie smile, gone out of style

The revolutionary thinker must go beyond thought. He knows that almost all his best ideas come to him when thinking has stopped.

Alan Watts

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful to be able to eat Amy’s home-cooked food again. Better than any shop.