A bit tired again, maybe from mentally preparing to get back into it with the kids again tomorrow. I’m excited to see everyone again.
Today I’m grateful for:
Twinkl having a free download day for their whole site. Perfect timing! I got a stack of role-play and conversation starters that I can go through and see if I can use in my new classes.
The best thing about today was:
Spending time out in my room, clearing out emails, writing and reading, sorting out files on computers and online and probably the top thing was playing guitar with the new strings that I put on yesterday. Sounds good again!
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
Our internet connection got fixed but it still seems a little shaky. I’m struggling to download some of these things from the Twinkl site because it’s so slow. I’m trying to handle it with patience! Mostly!
Something I learned today?
This morning Noey told me about a nice breakfast cafe in the city which had sourdough toast with avocado and smoked salmon. I’ll try it one day. It’s called In Am’s Kitchen.
Review your acts, and then for vile deeds chide yourself, for good be glad. — Discourses 3.10
I helped Amy with moving a big cactus from a pot to the ground but it was very clumsy and awkward. Hopefully, it doesn’t get blown over whilst waiting to get some deeper roots.
What have I been reading lately?
I’m two-thirds through Charles Shaar Murray’s Shoots From The Hip, today reading about The Boomtown Rats and Guy Stevens. It’s a nostalgic read about the wonders of the music business.
I’m halfway through The Decline of the British Empire, which is an amazing read but requires extended periods of concentration that I haven’t been making enough time for recently.
I’m still in the early stages of Goodbye 20th Century, the Sonic Youth biography but I’ve been skipping that and reading plenty of comics instead, 2000AD (still 21 years behind on that!), Judge Dredd Magazine, ALL of the New 52 comics (only up to 630 of 2500 comics so far!), Volume 1 of Shadowman, Heavy Metal (still in the 1978 issues – some of them are hard going) and I want to start Lucifer and 100 Bullets when I’ve finished Shadowman, Stray Bullets too.
I also have 4 books open on my laptop that I’m dipping into every now and then.
I took this picture last weekend at Chatuchak weekend market as there were plenty of tunnels of books to explore. No pictures today.
Egged out, we must survive Enthusiastic push to thrive Finally, no one gets out alive That’s the way we all go
Early birds catch the worms The voice inside us turns In turn, the worm learns That that’s the way we all go
One day, in a different way Here tomorrow, gone today Even the early bird will say That’s the way we all go
Paraphrased and plagiarised (in the nicest possible way) from various majestic Cardiacs songs. Submitted to Ovi Poetry Challenge 47
Today I’m feeling:
Good again though that 6 am alarm was tough. It had to be done though. My leg workout was too much, supposed to be 3 x 64 reps of lunges but I could only manage 40 by which time my skinny thigh muscles wanted to explode. But 40 is better than none.
Today I’m grateful for:
Matt, who kindly donated me some magic mushroom capsules as he tried them but didn’t enjoy the experience.
The best thing about today was:
Enjoying a whole day out of home even though I could’ve just gone to school, signed in and come home again. I had planned to do this anyway but it was made even more desirable because when I was leaving this morning Auntie Sue told me that the electricity would be off today as they are moving the lines to the new poles. Great – no reason to come home early.
After signing in I spent the morning reading and writing at House whilst enjoying three coffees and even getting another lesson done for the classes on Presentations.
After that, I dropped by Central to buy a gift for Funfai as it is her birthday today and she told me she would be playing tennis at 4 pm. I got her a notebook, pencil case and pen. I also got the same for Anchan.
For the afternoon I went to see Matt as planned and we talked for a couple of hours catching up on each other’s lives. He also showed me his guitar setup and pedals, all of which sound fantastic but not within my price range or even within my time limitations for being feasible.
I left at around 4 pm to head to the tennis courts though I could see in the distance very dark clouds and the wind started picking up dramatically. Baipad messaged me that it was storming in our village as, after cancelling bike riding yesterday due to a storm, we had rearranged for today at 5 pm.
I got to the tennis courts and there weren’t many people around and the wind was already making it difficult for those there. No sign of Funfai so I messaged her and she told me that her lesson had been cancelled. Ah well, no worries. I used the opportunity to go and clock out of school which I haven’t bothered to do so far this week.
As I drove back home it started to rain though nothing storm-like. It had already blown through by the looks of things. I figured Baipad wouldn’t want to ride and a wet road would have made it more difficult for her too, so I thought I’d drop by and see if I could chat with her a little more in-depth.
As I passed by our soi it was still blocked with electricity people running around so I assumed the power was still off at home too. Amy also called and said that she couldn’t get home earlier when she tried as the road was blocked then too.
So I hung out at Baipad’s for an hour and did get her to open up a little more and whilst not confronting any of her issues, started to get her to think about them a bit more.
She feels comfortable to talk with me though she still lacks the maturity to know how to express herself. I can report though that she is not happy with herself and does want to change, she just doesn’t know how and I can feel that her mum doesn’t know how to teach or show her either. Her mum obviously has her own struggles.
Anyway, I’ll try my best to support, motivate and teach her some skills that can bring up her confidence. It’s all valuable reminders for me too.
I came home around 6 pm and it has been raining most of the time since, 3 hours now, with a comfortable temperature again, which I, and most probably everyone, is grateful for.
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
I got my new teaching schedule today. It has changed a little bit from what I was expecting, with me being given 24 hours instead of the 22 that the other teachers get. I’m not going to complain though.
I like being in the classroom, with the kids so another couple of hours is fine and it might also encourage me to stay each day and sign out like they want me to!
After arriving home I found that our internet wasn’t working, probably due to the work going on with the poles in our soi. I hope that our provider knows about this work, but I can also easily imagine that they don’t. At least I can still hotspot and connect with my phone tonight and we’ll be out most of the day tomorrow.
Something I learned today?
Both Jet and Praewa sent me messages today because they got their study schedules and they were upset that I won’t be teaching them this year.
Did you do something difficult or challenging today?
Any of the minor challenges that I’ve mentioned above didn’t feel that difficult at all (except the lunges) and my state of mind was good enough to accept everything as it came.
I took this picture of the Utopia FB post and sent it to Noey. She wanted to know where I was because she hadn’t seen me today. I should be there on Sunday though.
What kind of artist were you when you were young?
When I was about 5 or 6 I always got told off for drawing castles instead of writing. I tried to compromise by writing something that allowed me to also draw a castle!
In my teens, I got deep into punk iconology, cut-up style and sloganeering. I made many posters like this, including a huge one that I submitted for an art assignment. I also painted a picture of a faceless punk in a three-piece suit, crucified on a cross.
My forays into the artistic world ended up more around words but also into producing booklets, fanzines and posters. I don’t have the creative drive anymore to do this, perhaps hampered by a lack of time due to other endeavours such as writing.
Did you paint, colour with crayons, build things with blocks?
Painting and colouring yes but I had an aversion to building things. Other kids had Meccano but I could never figure out what to make with it. Similarly, with Lego, it seemed like too much effort to make a shitty version of a house or something like that. My imagination didn’t run in that direction.
What kind of creative acts did you enjoy?
When the punk ideology hit, the ‘anyone can do it’ attitude, I wanted desperately to be the singer in a band and so set about writing lyrics. This was from about aged 11.
A little later this also turned into writing brief poetic thoughts of which I was constantly churning out.
I always enjoyed doing that though somewhere along the way in my 20s, I stopped writing those until I started again in 2020 when I remembered how much I enjoyed it and got back to doing it again.
When did you write your first poem?
I guess it would have been in 1984 when I was 15 or 16 though I probably had some before that, written for an English class. The earliest things that I held onto were from 1984.
What was it about?
Poems from that time were about petty thoughts and trivialities of a schoolboy’s life. It turned serious though as depression sunk in and the future looked bleak. Back then though I could write about any little thing that sparked my interest. It was fun.
How did you come to poetry?
As described above, through writing lyrics. I still consider what I write mostly as being lyrics rather than poetry.
Don’t tell the monkeys that we understand Let them think we’re stupid and dumb Otherwise, they’ll force us to work And their rat race sure looks no fun
Don’t tell the monkeys we understand Our nature is just to laze and play Let them think we’re too stupid and dumb To be forced to an office job all day
Don’t tell the monkeys we understand Can you imagine us wearing suits!? We’re happy right where we are Still closely attached to our roots
Don’t tell the monkeys we understand We chose to communicate with grunts The monkeys have forgotten now That that’s how they were once
Apparently there is an old Indonesian myth that says that Orang-utans have the ability to speak human languages, but choose not to, because they know if we caught them speaking we would force them to get jobs.
Today I’m feeling:
Pretty good so far though I’m disappointed to find my weight has still increased despite doing exercise and getting lots of steps in at the weekend. I’m sure it will regulate back down to around 79kg once I get back into the teaching routine.
The exercises in the Mad Muscles app that I’ve been using for a month take a little longer than my normal app as it’s not possible to skip the rest times and jump ahead. This means getting up a little earlier than before.
The subscription runs out soon though and I’m not sure if I will try it again, I actually just wanted the chair yoga exercises but got leg and arm exercises instead. Maybe when I get paid again I will check it out again, otherwise I will stick with the free app I’ve been using.
Today I’m grateful for:
All the Nat Geo books that arrived at the school a couple of years ago and are still sitting around waiting to be used. I didn’t use them last year but can see that they will be useful for one of my classes and will save me time as I already have lessons written for them.
The best thing about today was:
The books I bought at Dasa on Monday arriving and having forgotten about them, rediscovering what I had bought. The library grows way faster than I can read!
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
When I got home I stuck a load of washing on as I was running out of underwear. I had to spin it twice as there were so many other clothes too and I started hanging it out at around 3 pm.
I joked to myself that it was so hot that some of it might be dry by the time I finish hanging everything and sure enough a couple of shirts were already dry.
A little while later I was preparing to head out to my room to play a little guitar but Amy called because she had forgotten to submit an assignment for one of her students. As I waited for her stupidly slow computer to load, login and open the web browser I heard a bang outside and when I looked around there was a huge wind blowing through and I ran outside to our washing which was now scattered around the garden!
I furiously gathered everything up and shoved it into the kitchen, also worried about any rain that might come with this wind but an hour later, the skies are still dark though nothing else.
I eventually got to log in and sort out uploading Amy’s assignments whilst marvelling at what a piece of shit Microsoft Windows is.
Something I learned today?
I watched an interview with the economic advisor to US President Biden who couldn’t even explain how his own economy works.
He made lots of confusing statements and then actually said ‘I don’t know how it works, but it does!’
I checked to see if it was April 1st – it was THAT unbelievable.
Review your acts, and then for vile deeds chide yourself, for good be glad. — Discourses 3.10
I gifted some Thai candy to Baipad, her mum and Butter. We didn’t go and ride because the storm that blew in kept threatening though predictably it didn’t rain at all in the end.
Did you do something difficult or challenging today?
Push-ups as part of my morning exercise. The routine required different types of push-ups but my upper body is so weak that I could only do a few push-ups and even then, by the end of the sets I couldn’t do them all. But I didn’t quit the routine, at least.
I took this picture at the restaurant yesterday because it’s a pretty wild and interesting painting!
Like time is running away too fast. I should not waste what I have been given. But is any of it worthwhile? Well, it has to be. I convince myself.
Today I’m grateful for:
The man at the bottle shop who put the tray of soda water onto the back seat of the truck for me.
The best thing about today was:
Taking Baipad and her neighbour Butter (another one, a boy this time, though quite effeminate) up to the University to teach them to ride a motorbike.
Baipad struggled but Butter picked it up quickly. It was only after talking with them both a little more I discovered that Butter had learned how to ride a pushbike but Baipad never did. Butter still has a bike so I told Baipad to practice on that as soon as possible. Better she falls off that than a motorbike.
After a few more goes Baipad improved every time but she needs to practice more to get her balance worked out.
Something I learned today?
The current Zionist-enforced famine in Gaza is the highest number of people ever recorded as facing catastrophic hunger. Worse than Darfur, Somalia and Yemen.
Israel teaching the world how to genocide. The irony?
Review your acts, and then for vile deeds chide yourself, for good be glad. — Discourses 3.10
I fixed the hose with the new connector that Amy picked up. Works perfectly again.
Teaching riding a motorbike to a couple of 15-year-olds.
What’s one thing I can simplify?
I have simplified a lot over the last few years. As my main focus now is teaching I think that I could simplify my classes for my students, though more importantly for myself.
Sometimes I overestimate the ability of my students and with the usual disparity of skill levels in a single classroom it is a delicate balance to try and keep everyone happy.
I took this picture because one day these kids will look back and remember when they didn’t know how to ride a bike.
Much improved. Almost normal even! Is it a psychological trait of mine? A mental quirk? Does my brain make me feel ill when there are things that I’m supposed to do that I really can’t be fucked to do?
And now, Sunday – usually the day before going back to work (which I love when there are students at school and detest when there aren’t and we are there just because we are supposed to be) but tomorrow is the first day of the holiday. Has circumstance suddenly tricked me into feeling well?
It’s also weird to be annoyed at having five weeks holiday this year, a week more than last year, and this is because it is the worst time of year here for air pollution and five weeks in October would be so much more preferable. But like I say it’s weird to be bothered about having extra holiday time!
Today I’m grateful for:
Uncle Nit next door who is helping us sort out some extra work that we need to connect up our drainage to the new drains being added under the widened road.
Uncle also told us that he’s never seen anything come out of our drain so I’m not exactly sure where our wastewater even goes.
The best thing about today was:
Getting this message from one of my grade 10 students Miwkey:
I am impressed and enjoy learning in the teacher’s lesson. Since I studied with foreign teachers, I have never met a teacher like you. I’ve only encountered foreign teachers who use their emotions towards their students while not paying attention to the lessons they teach in the classroom.
I kind of understand what she means – I think there are many teachers who don’t and sometimes can’t actually assist with explaining some things and just tell the students that they are stupid and should figure it out for themselves. Sigh.
I do also ask them to figure things out for themselves but I’m going to guide them with effective methods that they can remember and reuse.
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
Whilst at Utopia Amy called me to pick up some veggies at the market. When I got back she saw them and exclaimed ‘Noooo, not that one! Go back now!’
Luckily I was in a good mood and quickly went back and got the correct ones.
Review your acts, and then for vile deeds chide yourself, for good be glad. — Discourses 3.10
More encouragement for students via LINE.
What word or phrase sums up this month?
Tired would pretty much be it. Is it that I’m tired after this busy school year? Because I invest so much of myself into it emotionally? It’s not really been that busy since Christmas.
Perhaps it’s a combination of that and missing the kids, the heat and air pollution and not really having any plans to go anywhere.
But I did feel better today at least.
Amy took this picture because she wanted to show off her tamarind eggs. Unfortunately, she got a crazy teacher in the shot too!
When judgement comes, what may you say In your defence? For every tiny part you play Comes at some expense With violence spent, you walked away All of it forgotten Whilst those you hurt were forced to stay Sour and turning rotten
When judgement comes, it will be Seen from your heart For better or worse, you set me free You played your part A part in miniature, a part of me Reborn stronger My part in this is plain to see And I will stay longer
Uncertain. I just looked in the mirror and felt old and worthless. Perhaps it’s because I’m not around the energy of the kids at the moment.
Last night Amy also cried that Thailand isn’t her place anymore and that she feels more at home in Australia. There’s a lot behind that but there is also a factor that I haven’t written about here because it’s a sensitive topic and the situation is ongoing. Needless to say, I understand her feeling, whilst not sharing it.
She also asked me if I would ever go back to England to live and I said no, which made me consider her position.
I seem to have really found myself here and just have no real idea what I would do with myself back in Australia.
Anyway, this is not a new feeling or thought and is not able to be actioned upon just yet due to having our cats and our home here, which we would need to sell. Sometime in the future though, it looks a given that we will be back in Australia.
Today I’m grateful for:
My student, Nong Aoi, who called me this evening as she was happily cooking and eating with her boyfriend and friends. Despite giving me big headaches last year enough to make me worry that she was going off the rails, she has calmed down a little now and is quite sweet and affectionate. I think it’s nice that my students feel comfortable enough to call me. I’m doubtful that they call other any other teachers.
Yesterday I also messaged a little with Nong Nam, who was Aoi’s accomplice in giving me grief last year. She has also matured a little more now and said that she really appreciates that I contact her every six months or so to check in on her. Sometimes it’s the small actions that make all the difference.
The best thing about today was:
Quietly reading 2000AD and Judge Dread Megazine stories after getting home mid-afternoon. It was excellent and I was savouring the time spent.
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
I got a glimpse of my new classes from Kru Mai today and whilst he has taken heed of my reluctance to be involved with the Integrated classes for next semester he has spread me out into other high school classes which means figuring out new lessons to teach.
I would also not teach any grade 7 classes, for which I already have a hundred lessons accumulated over the last three years. Oh well, new challenges lay ahead.
Cappuccino is still not looking too good at the moment and doesn’t seem to be able to settle himself into a comfortable position, like there’s something not right in his hips or belly. Poking around doesn’t seem to cause him any discomfort but something is obviously not right.
Amy and I are both wary as it was at this time last year that Kim got sick and went to the vet a couple of times until that fateful day she didn’t come back alive.
Something I learned today?
In medieval Europe, mercury was used in medicine and manufacturing. Hatters were specifically exposed to mercuric nitrate, a form of inorganic mercury.
By 1837, “mad as a hatter” was a common saying.
Review your acts, and then for vile deeds chide yourself, for good be glad. — Discourses 3.10
I sent messages out to a few more students today to check in on how they are doing. I discovered that Anchan is having a tough time of things these days.
She has been living with her uncle as the rest of her family have been put in prison for an illegal online gambling website! She says her uncle is never around so she has to take care of the house and as she is not getting any money from her mum now she has to help her grandmum with selling things and gets barely enough to buy herself food.
And all that is taking away from her school work where, amazingly, she is still motivated to push herself and enrolling herself in extracurricular activities. She’s only 14 years old.
She asked for some help with information about exchange programs to Australia and I talked a little with Kru Champ about that as it is something he is working on in the future.
It’s frustrating to see smart, motivated kids trapped in situations like this. I hope she doesn’t give up and lose herself as so many teenagers can do.
I took this picture because Cap is not quite feeling well at the moment, unfortunately.
I’ve got some energy today, mainly through having ideas for lessons for next semester, which I need to focus on this week in preparation.
I just hope that what I’m working on is suitable for the students and not above their level.
I sometimes overestimate how skilled the students are and as this is my first time teaching grade 12 I have some reservations.
Today I’m grateful for:
Cap being able to come home from the vet. He hates being there as he is a princess scaredy-cat a lot of the time.
I doubt he slept much for the last three days but the saline has helped stabilise his blood levels and hopefully, he soon gets his appetite back.
The best thing about today was:
Getting on a roll with my lessons. I checked with the grade 12 teacher from last year and they were very supportive of what I was hoping to teach some of these students.
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
I talked to Kru Mai about changing one of my classes so that they matched the other classes in that grade and he said he will look at it.
But in the process of that conversation, the annual discussion of integrated study came up again and our grade 7 and 10 classes may need to follow that format.
I argued against this unless we are given the lessons to teach (which is not likely). Every year they try to implement this and it’s always been shot down but it looks they are going to try and muscle it in somehow this time.
Also, any rejigging of our classes may also mean I don’t end up teaching the grade 12s that I just spent all day working on lessons for. I asked if that could be left alone because I hope that I can get this opportunity to test out my skills and abilities, as well as the students.
Something I learned today?
USA TikTok users said that they were worried if the company was sold to a US corporation, believing that it would be more censored and restricted than it is currently as a subsidiary of a Chinese company.
Review your acts, and then for vile deeds chide yourself, for good be glad. — Discourses 3.10
Amy asked me to do many little things for her this evening and I’ve done them as required, even though it interrupted things that I was doing.
I took this picture because the full moon was looking rad as I went out to help Amy in the teaching room. She has plans for it but I’m not sure exactly what yet.
Who determines the state of us turtles? Is it those that pump poison into my home? As if there is not enough for us to deal with Better you didn’t exist and left us all alone
A little better. I started to feel almost ok after eating some dinner last night. I wasn’t really hungry but ate anyway and glad that I did. I struggled with sleep again last night but don’t feel too tired yet; I know that I really need to push through today and not take a nap so that I can enjoy a good sleep tonight. Right now – 8 am – I feel like I have the start of a cold or flu again, much like I did last week. So despite feeling better than I did on Saturday, I’m still on the edge.
Today I’m grateful for:
The hospital being close by and able to see Amy for whatever allergy is bothering her skin at 9 pm. Hopefully, it’s nothing serious but best for her to get checked as she has had attacks from allergies before.
The best thing about today was:
Playing lots of guitar although much of it was frustrating as I haven’t played much this week and I can notice the struggle I am having to get my coordination working again.
Something I learned today?
I learned what a cherita is in poetry. I will give this a go sometime. I’m currently thinking about a cascading poem using a nomeansno lyric as a starting point.
Cherita (pronounced CHAIR-rita) is a linked poetry form of one-, two- and three-line stanzas.
Cherita is the Malay word for “story” or “tale”.
A cherita consists of a one-line stanza, followed by a two-line stanza, and then finishing with a three-line stanza.
Review your acts, and then for vile deeds chide yourself, for good be glad. — Discourses 3.10
I talked a little bit with my student Earn again and gave her some more encouragement as she figures out who she is and where she is going in her life. As usual, it’s wonderful to watch these kids grow and mature.
How do I practice self-care on a busy day?
My days are mostly made busy by self-care! Over the last few years, I have been bringing self-care to the forefront of my mind and I no longer mean this in a selfish way (as I might have done in the past).
My days are generally not that busy so the remaining time is taken up with self-care in the form of reading, writing, relaxation and thinking. On a busy day, the actions are the same. Each space must be filled with thought that ensures care for one’s self (along with everyone around).
I took this picture because the school cat Garfield was waiting for cuddles and rubs this morning.
Tired because I had slept too much over the last two days and so struggled to sleep last night along with Cap wanting to be let out and back in again three times. I hope to get home in the early afternoon and catch up on some sleep then. The air is still making me feel dizzy and sick too.
Today I’m grateful for:
The four staff at the post office who I communicated with Google Translate telling them that I didn’t want to pay customs tax on a parcel from Yukari in Japan. The shirt and CDs were already expensive and I don’t want to have to pay even more just to receive them.
Anyway, in my mind I’m already resigned to having to pay the tax but I thought that I would try my best to not and the four guys were all a little stuck as it is just their job to collect the money and send it to the customs people.
I explained that the things in the parcel were just some stuff that I left in Japan when I was visiting there and it was just being sent back to me. The value on the customs declaration is just for insurance claims if it gets lost. They were sympathetic but said they just collected the money.
This would be different in Australia where you have a good chance of not paying import duty if you can argue a good case as I have done in the past on several occasions.
Well, as it was up to the customs people I asked them to call them and explain the situation. They tried but said there was no answer, maybe because it was lunchtime. OK, when you’ve talked to them you can call me and I gave them my phone number and left.
I doubt that they will call as none of them speak English so I will go back in a day or two and see what the situation is.
The best thing about today was:
Getting my grading files all done and dusted by 9.30am, allowing me time to enjoy coffee before a little bit of shopping, where, finally, Big C has the Strawberry Granola in stock again.
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
I suppose the situation above that I describe about the customs tax is out of my control and I dealt with it calmly and softly. There was no point in getting upset with the staff at the post office – they were just doing their job.
How do I deal with uncertainty?
I remind myself that everything is uncertain. When you consider that everything is uncertain and that you have been dealing with this reality for 56 years already, you might not be exactly sure how you deal with it but like my mum always said you ‘just get on with it.’
I have become more flexible and accepting of change over time, something I know that Hayden often struggles with. I have also reduced my expectations around things being a certain way – Thailand has taught me this quite well.
I took this picture because Cap looked like he was curled up in a warm winter house with a fire roaring nearby which couldn’t be further from the truth. This old man is still so cute.
Exhausted despite a long sleep. I don’t feel good after arguing with Amy last night. Amy also doesn’t remember some of the things we discussed last night but just remembers that she’s upset.
She forgot part of our plan this morning for taking Cap to the vet and heading to get the truck first. It was annoying to me as it triggered another argument last night and yet was forgotten by the morning.
I feel dumb even writing this down.
I should be more patient, more forgiving, more understanding. I should be better than this and I don’t know why I behave the way I do sometimes.
As I was drifting off to sleep last night I was reminded of what I told Baipad when she was having problems with her mum, that we ‘save our worst behaviour for the people we love the most.’ I want to change that.
Today I’m grateful for:
My job and this school, today organising a great graduation event (at least after all the boring parts were completed anyway) for grade 9s and 12s, some of whom we won’t be seeing again.
I could feel that the students were in a celebratory mood but also with a slight tinge of sadness as life will change for them all in the next couple of months, whether moving on to university, high school or a job.
The best thing about today was:
Definitely the atmosphere in the school. It was a relaxed party time for everyone.
I had a lot of fun with some of my monkey students and couldn’t believe what time it was when I thought about leaving. A few kids were also keen to introduce me to their parents.
Days like this make the grind worthwhile.
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
Only a couple of minor and inconsequential things that were easily dealt with.
Something I learned today?
Starbucks is having to lay off workers as the company is being boycotted for its support of Israel. Good.
Review your acts, and then for vile deeds chide yourself, for good be glad. — Discourses 3.10
I took Amy (and Cap) to pick up her truck and she will take Cap to the vet. Between us, at some point today, one of us needs to pick up her mum from the hospital and take her back home.
If I’m available then I will do it, no problem. However, as today is the M3 and M6 graduation ceremony I don’t know exactly what times I will be able to get out.
What moment from today do I want to remember?
I want to revel in the happiness that my grade 9 students were feeling for completing their first three years of high school.
It hasn’t been easy for them or us as teachers as they were particularly affected by pandemic restrictions and having to study online for much of their first semester together. It took them longer to bond and get into the swing of studying once back in the classroom.
I can still remember them and their immaturity, slowly changing into young men and women, slowly figuring out their places in their world. It’s a fabulous feeling and I really enjoy watching it.
Some photos will help me remember too.
I took this picture because Sarah is the funniest monkey. She was a problem to deal with in grade 7 but she found her way and can still have fun but also learn some things too.
1994ever 