Wouldn’t it be great to be the least worst And given pontificated names Promoted due to the complete lack of options The last man standing remains
Qualified without merit or skills Is it possible to win the hearts and minds Of those who pay your bills When the sun from your backside blinds?
Today I’m feeling:
Tired. Apparently, I slept before 10 pm last night and then woke up again this morning just before 9 am.
If being so tired is connected with kratom then it’s an easy fix but if it is related to exercise that will be a bit annoying as I need to keep up my energy levels and keep off the fat.
Health:
Physical: 7 Mental: 7
Today I’m grateful for:
It not raining this morning, even though I had tempted fate by riding the bike to Utopia.
The best thing about today was:
Getting into a flow state again, like yesterday. I did a fair bit of catching up with reading poetry but only managed to write one fairly average one myself.
After that, though, I got stuck back into writing more lessons and found that time really enjoyable. I imagine myself in the classroom and how some students will react and be inspired or provoked into doing some work.
It doesn’t often end up that way and I realise that I have to tweak things as I go but it all helps fill me with confidence. I think that is half the trick of being a teacher. Faking confidence!
Something I learned today?
I found that I can listen to the AFL games live on my phone. I was checking in on the Port/Hawks game this evening and though it’s not as good as watching, it is a little better than only getting the 15-minute mini-match highlights.
Port got through by the skin of their teeth and were running tired by the end, which is good news as we will play them next week in Sydney.
Despite getting slaughtered by them 6 or 7 weeks ago, I think we have a good chance of making it through to the grand final again this year. Playing the Hawks would’ve been a tougher prospect.
Enthralled by perceived charisma, you will hear these words oft-repeated We will provide you what you deserve of which you’ve been cheated The masks will swap, convincing you that change means not the same Scapegoating other players is just the way ahead in this game
There’s no escaping the treadmills that you yourself wished created Signed on to the terms and conditions that we have dictated Ignorance is a more terrible curse than anything we could invent So the illusion must be maintained with your monies well spent
I tried some long-line rhyming! The initial inspiration for this was the 7th line, taken from the comic Shadowman – hence the title.
Today I’m feeling:
Super tired. I slept before 10 last night and was in a deep, deep sleep for most of the night and did not want to get up this morning but I did push myself and did a little exercise again.
I was sitting in my room, about to leave, when Amy called me and asked if the school was open because the river had burst its banks and Tessaban 6 school is closed and the bypass is closed too, forcing everyone onto the highway, which usually floods at points too.
I called Kru Tang and she suggested staying home until she got more details. So I could’ve slept even longer if I wanted!
I pushed myself out to Utopia, where I’m sitting now and will do some work.
At 10.30, a message came through that the school will be closed until Monday! Woohoo! One teacher commented that the river is up on the bridge now, which, if I had gone to school, may have meant that I couldn’t get home!
Health:
Physical: 6 Mental: 7
Today I’m grateful for:
No more rain today, at least in our area and we are not affected by any flooding here. It was actually worse here for us last week.
Someone shot a video from ThaTon showing the overflowing river rushing through just under the bottom of the bridge, and all that water was heading towards the city.
The best thing about today was:
Probably having Amy warn me about the flooding before leaving home this morning.
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
Amy is closely following events just in case her parents and/or friends are likely to have any problems overnight. I know she’s very worried about it.
I feel more calm as there is really nothing I can do at the moment.
Something I learned today?
I came across a current documentary about kratom use in the USA. It seems that entrepreneurs there are extracting the active elements from it and boosting up the efficacy and it’s starting to cause health problems, including death.
I was just wondering today if my tiredness is from taking kratom. I hadn’t had any for about six weeks and noticed that I wasn’t sleeping as well as before. I’ve slept very well since taking it again this week, but then I also noticed that I feel exhausted at the end of the day.
However, I’m also wondering if my tiredness is due to the fact that I started exercising again this week, too. Maybe I need to test both of these possibilities out.
Review your acts, Good and bad.
I messaged Baipad at lunchtime, and she said that she was at Central, presumably going there after the school closed. I wished her luck to get home, as only one bridge was still open over the river.
After waking up again after an afternoon nap, Amy told me that all the bridges were closed now. I messaged Baipad again, and she told me that she had made it home.
I commiserated with Porpieng and Lin, though, as both their houses were starting to flood.
Gui took this picture of the highway from the top of his house. It soon got worse than this and though he said the cafe was ok at that time, I’m not so sure it stayed that way. Both my school and TLC were flooded by late afternoon.
A lizard onlooker shouts for both sides The winners and losers, just along for the rides The best place to hide is out in the open There are no promises that cannot be broken
There is no yin and yang or balance The race is run purely by marketing talents They’re all donkeys dressed up as horses Rides into the sunset as democracy endorses
Submitted to Bad Jonny’s competition at AllPoetry.com “Why have we only got 2 lunatics to choose from?” concerning the USA election this year.
Today I’m feeling:
Tired still and my sore throat, whilst not as painful, feels weird and is making me think that I have some form of Covid.
Last night I tried to sleep at around 9.30 but it took a while as I had a bad headache and eyeache.
I also had a weird dream about finding snakes under the bed in my old Forest Cottage bedroom and mum came in and just picked them up and threw them out of the window, no fear!
Today I’m grateful for:
It being my low-pressure day today, giving me chance to relax a bit and catch up on some reading and writing.
The best thing about today was:
The challenge of getting my poorly skilled grade 8 students motivated and awake this afternoon. A few of them are sick too. Somehow, I feel like I kind of managed it and everyone was reasonably happy.
Something I learned today?
Just by chance, I was in the teacher’s room with Kru Mai and I started talking about the Integrated Program for next year and that I thought that I could probably do it with the type of lessons that I have already. Kru Mai was grateful for this information and then let slip that the school is not happy with George as he didn’t talk with them about not wanting to teach Integrated this year, instead, going to Nancy and having her ‘fix’ it for him. He also said that students are not happy with seeing one teacher so much of the time (as George only teaches grades 11 and 12).
I told Kru Mai that both David and I are exhausted by the weekend, having to deal with the grade 7, 8 and 9s all the time too.
I asked if students had raised any issues about my classes and he said no, everything seemed to be fine, which was nice to hear. He seemed to be happy with both me and David.
Also, I can’t remember if I wrote about it here before but last week there was a message from the head of our department that parents had made complaints about the quality of teaching in our classes, as their children had reported back that other students would be sleeping, playing on their phones or doing their make-up instead of paying attention.
Complaints were made in person to the director so our department was warned that we would be checked up on this week. I hadn’t noticed any real changes or effort on the part of the teachers but I also haven’t been around much either.
With the exchange students being here, it has also made things a little more chaotic with teachers being pulled here and there at random times, too.
At the weekend, I showed Bruno and Amy the warning from the head and we talked about it a little bit. Today, Kru Mai mentioned it to me too, telling me that it was a grade 7 student who had complained and it was particularly about Kru Ren’s class.
I could’ve guessed as much but didn’t think much else about it until I got home and Amy said that it was actually her friend Goy’s sister-in-law who complained to the director and her daughter, who is a smart student and is attentive and wants to learn is being bullied by the other students for being a goodie-two-shoes and to give them her work so that they can all copy it!
Chiang Rai is so small that everyone is at about three degrees of separation rather than the stereotypical six.
Anyway, the kid seems smart and I want to meet her.
I took this picture because these colourful flowers stood out in the dull grey-green of the day as I made my way through the garden at House.
1994ever 