Tag: students

Frank’s Dream – 4th October 2022

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

When Frank died his soul flew up high
And ended up in a powerful war machine
He screamed ‘ANNIHILATE’ but didn’t know why
But then it turned out it was all just a dream

Inspired by Armoured Gideon, 2000AD

It is an illusion that youth is happy, an illusion of those who have lost it; but the young know they are wretched for they are all full of the truthless ideal which has been instilled into them, and each time they come into contact with the real, they are bruised and wounded.

W. Somerset Maugham

Today I’m feeling:
Happy and satisfied.
Today I’m grateful for:
The front wheel of my motorbike. It took some hard knocks on some tough roads today and I was worried I would have to limp down the mountain with a flat tyre but it held up and got me home.
The best thing about today was:
Riding around new mountains and discovering some beautiful villages and amazing scenery. It was blissful.

What daily habit do you do that improves your quality of life?
For 24 years now I’ve been taking sertraline and that has made an incredible difference to my life, keeping me stable and less prone to depression. I still have bad moments but in general, I am much happier than a was in my first 30 years.
Brushing my teeth. Sad to say that I didn’t look after my teeth well for my first 20 years or so. They are just hanging on since starting to care about them more.
Making my bed. A small habit I only acted on since moving to Thailand. I actually don’t care if my bed is made or not but I do it so as to include it in a series of morning habits and to feel, no matter how minor, to have achieved something already, right at the beginning of the day.
Exercise….if I do it every day it will definitely improve my quality of life. Now I just have to do it every day!

I took this picture because Bruno and I met these kids after a long muddy ride and they were so happy and inquisitive to see two muddy white men in their mountain school at the end of the road.

Slow – 28th September 2022

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

The air is stuck
There’s no going anywhere
One step forward
It’s sideways from there
Invisible mud muddles
Through invisible puddles
Backed up traffic, stuck
Driving this torpid truck
Barely falling forward
Towards a future unseen
Holding onto the past
Where the memory’s been

The minute you hear ‘freedom’ and ‘democracy’ watch out because in a truly free nation, no one has to tell you you’re free.

Jacque Fresco

Today I’m feeling:
Happy and inspired.
Today I’m grateful for:
Pushing myself to go to Daytripper for coffee and to sit for an hour or more and prepare for class next semester. It was a nice space to be in and there were lots of uni students studying too. I’m grateful to have many choices for places to go to even though I rarely do so.
The best thing about today was:
Seeing an online post from my students saying how much they liked me as their teacher. That made me feel so happy! See photo entry.

I took this picture because I was truly heartened to see these words from Anchan. I can feel that she is mature in her thinking and attitude and I know she has to work hard at home after school too. I hope she becomes a great student and can have a bright future. I hope that for all my students.

Happy Endings – 26th September 2022

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Did you plan for this deflated feeling?
Post-orgasm jism dripping from the ceiling
In the cold light of day lies the rub
Impatiently waiting for the next rub and tug

Dopamine rushes are in high demand
Sex supply is in the dollars command
Is it really just money you’re spending
As you chase after another happy ending?

Culture is a perversion. It fetishes objects, creates consumer mania, it preaches endless forms of false happiness, endless forms of false understanding in the form of squirrelly religions and silly cults. It invites people to dimish themselves and dehumanise themselves by behaving like machines.

Terrance McKenna

Today I’m feeling:
Happy and contented.
Today I’m grateful for:
Not having anything specific to do at school so I could just hang out with the kids for a while and we could communicate as best we could in English, Thai and with translation. I could also get to 22 Grams for my favourite coffee, sit and read, write and prepare some lessons for next semester. Everyone was in a good state of mind.
The best thing about today was:
Was just the sheer enjoyment of being around my students and hearing them play and having fun with each other and then with me. Everywhere I go students wave and beckon me over and want to try and chat about something. It really gives me great pleasure to be a minor part of their lives. I can remember a time in the past talking to my friends about becoming a barista or even a teacher and they all thought that I would be a great teacher. I’m trying and I’m enjoying trying.

I took this picture because…actually, my student Anchan insisted on taking some selfies using my phone and this is one of the results. Feije, Jet, Anchan and me. There was good energy today.

Rolling In – 22nd September 2022

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 1 Comment

The bird in the limes whoops
‘Here comes the rain’
Ants busy themselves in relocation
Coming inside again
At each gust the bough twists
Fruit falls to the ground
A flash to signal cats
To hide from the oncoming sound
Low breaths hanging dark
Pushed frantically apace
Rapid gunfire hits the sheets
Falling around this place
The frogs shout out their pleasure
The cats, a-sleeping, wait
Again the birds are whooping
As the worms turn toward their fate

What we become depends on what we read after all the professors have finished with us. The greatest university of all is a collection of books.

Thomas Carlyle

Today I’m feeling:
Tired but content
Today I’m grateful for:
My students at least seeming to understand what it is I want from them in class. They lose their bravado when having to talk with me one to one.
The best thing about today was:
Finishing classes early and being able to come home and have a sort of nap whilst listening to Sebka Chott, with Cap alongside me.

I took this picture because I love finding drawings of me in my student’s books. Some of these kids are quite talented.

The Week That Was – 16th December 1979

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.

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.

What’s Missing? – 7th September 2022

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 1 Comment

You’re only seeing the red pill
Or maybe just the green
Oblivious to the fact
The green pill left unseen

When the choice is one or two
Always search for three
Sometimes you’ll find four or five
If you look long enough to see

16th Nov 2024 – Shared with the Word of the Day Challenge – missing

Now is no time to think of what you do not have.

Ernest Hemingway

Today I’m grateful for:
The chef in the kitchen in the shop next door to Utopia, who remembered that I wanted food without meat and made delicious fried rice with chilli that had me sweating so hard I needed a shower when I got home.
The best thing about today was:
Having fun with all the kids who were cooking as part of their scout week. They were very playful and happy.

I took this picture because this unfinished building always fascinates me. I guess it was going to be a hotel. It is located next to the river and is an easy drive into town. I fanaticise about turning it into a punk house for world travellers and having shows there.

Body At War – 2nd September 2022

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

My body’s at war with my brain
One or the other is broken again
My aching joints keep me awake
I wonder how much more I can take
As I sink into deeper depression
My muscles dissolve in regression
Ever-declining circles of pain
My body’s at war with my brain

You’ve got to hand it to capitalism, convincing everyone that ‘freedom’ meant obeying your boss or starving was a pretty incredible achievement.

Existential Comics

Today I’m grateful for:
The gardeners for coming and taking care of things whilst I was at work. It’s nice to come home and everything looking respectable. They even collected all the passion fruit up from the ground for me.
The best thing about today was:
Talking with my students – as is often the case. Each time I communicate with them I hope it improves their confidence even just a little. As more students talk to me, others find the courage too.

Garden Haiku – 30th August 2022

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 4 Comments

Passionfruit flowers
Precede overabundance
Jam jars are ready

Ripened or not so
Papayas can be eaten
Until sick of it

The rambutans red
Are all infested with ants
Inedible now

Avocado trees
Why do you never give fruit?
I want to smash you

My chillies just came
It was a surprise to all
Conditions perfect

26th Jun 2024 – Submitted to Weekly Prompts Wednesday Challenge

Pain and suffering are always inevitable for a large intelligence and a deep heart. The really great men must, I think, have great sadness on earth.

Fyodor Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment

Today I’m grateful for:
The cookie I ate at House with my lunchtime coffee. It wasn’t particularly tasty or big but somehow it staved off any afternoon hunger so I ended up only needing yoghurt for dinner.
The best thing about today was:
Being able to talk to different students on a more personal level about more serious topics such as behaviour and respect. Even with the difficulties we have in communicating I feel as if I have their confidence in some ways.

I took this picture because I’d never seen the light on the lower mountains like this before. The sun was only just over the horizon to the east.

The Week That Was – 11th November 1979

Language Diabolic – 24th June 2022

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Bring it together – the idea and the word
And stand behind the words said and heard

Smash it apart – the words and the real
So that fantasy is all that’s left to feel

20th Mar 2024 – Submitted to RDP Tuesday – Fantasy

If I am killed, I can die but once; but to live in constant dread of it, is to die over and over again.

Abraham Lincoln

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful to have a runaround with some of my students yesterday. We were all happy to play.