Friday, December 17, 2004

Not too much to report from this weekend. I've been sick for the past couple of days but I am feeling a little better now, so hopefully that trend continues. All I did this weekend was sleep, read the paper, make up the G12 semester final, and sleep some more. So it hasn't been the most earth-shattering weekend ever, but such is life.

I would like to send a big, blog-worthy HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Megan, whose birthday is Decemeber 17. She just finished her last full semester of classes, and in another 4 months will be done school for good. I must say, it is a real accomplishment to have two 4-year degrees by the time you are 25. Happy birthday Megan, I love you and am so proud of you.

Ok, off you go, back to work and watching the Friday clock. Have a good weekend and I'll try to have a tamer few weeks, enough drama for a while. And if you are going on holidays, enjoy them, put your feet up by the fire and have a nap or two. And of course, keep reading the blog, I'm here all holidays. Cheers.

A sovereign thought, delivered to your door at 1:16 AM ~~ 0 bonsai trees

shout out out out out out

========================================================================

Tuesday, December 14, 2004

Yet another 'first' in my teaching career. Possibly a 'last' too.

School was rained out today and yes, you did read that correctly. When it rains here in Kuwait, every second blue moon or so, it rains like hell. No wonder this place got such a bad rep in the Old Testament. There is no adequate sewer system for all the water so the streets flood like crazy and half of the kids, or more accurately, 99% of them, don't show up. So I went to teach my first class, and was told about halfway through that the school was shutting it down for the day. Fine by me, get these little Satan Jr. Middle School kids outta here.

So I am at school, basically just killing time until we get the ok to get outta here. I could be writing exams or productive stuff like that, but my laptop is at home and a million other excuses. So I'm having tea, waiting. Laugh of the day comes from the fact that when it rains hard here, which would probably be considered a minor drizzle in Vancouver, everyone drives with their hazard lights on. I'd love to see some snow, what kinda chaos would that be?

Not too much else to report. The weekend is here and it looks like a quiet one, probably with an odour of wet dog. So I'll write some exams, do some planning, sleep a lot, and maybe got for a hot tub at the Hilton. Next week is my last full week, the following two weeks are shortened by one day each on account of Xmas and New Years. So I'm getting there. Hope this finds you well and take care of one another. Ciao.

A sovereign thought, delivered to your door at 11:21 PM ~~ 0 bonsai trees

shout out out out out out

========================================================================

The Kuwait Towers at night. The rest of the country looks like crap.

A sovereign thought, delivered to your door at 10:17 AM ~~ 0 bonsai trees

shout out out out out out

========================================================================

Monday, December 13, 2004

Hey

Just a heads up that I will NOT be going for the position. After some careful thoughts, I figure I would be better served by some more time in the classroom than pretending that I know how to run a K-12 department. Plus the mess that was left by Susan is a rather large one and I am not wanting to be the janitor for the remainder of the year.

I did consider this seriously. But I wondered how it would affect my resume. If you were to get a resume from a teacher with one years experience, and suddenly this teacher became a dean in his third month of teaching, I suspect that you might wonder about the quality of the school he was at. Plus the politics here are somewhat raw right now, especially in the English area, so I think it might be best for me to lay low, get some more experience in the classroom, and worry about admin and career advancement down the road.

Plus I like disagreeing with Jeff and X, cause they are both such chowders. Anyway, now I must go teach, which is what I prefer to do anyway, as opposed to sitting in meetings, so away I go. But before you get back to work, check this link out that talks about the info surrounding the voting in the last US presidential election. Not to beat a dead horse, but it is food for thought....

Good day. Be safe.

A sovereign thought, delivered to your door at 9:08 PM ~~ 0 bonsai trees

shout out out out out out

========================================================================

Sunday, December 12, 2004

An interesting article on being a kid in today's world. Read on, read on....

A sovereign thought, delivered to your door at 10:37 AM ~~ 0 bonsai trees

shout out out out out out

========================================================================

Sonnet XLVIII
Pablo Neruda

Two happy lovers make one bread,
a single moon drop in the grass.
Walking, they cast two shadows that flow together;
waking, they leave one sun empty in their bed.

Of all the possible truths, they chose the day;
they held it, not with ropes but with an aroma.
They did not shred the peace; they did not shatter words;
their happiness is a transparent tower.

The air and wine accompany the lovers.
The night delights them with its joyous petals.
They have a right to all the carnations.

Two happy lovers, without an ending, with no death,
they are born, they die, many times while they live:
they have the eternal life of the Natural.


On days like this I can't wait until London.

A sovereign thought, delivered to your door at 8:42 AM ~~ 0 bonsai trees

shout out out out out out

========================================================================

"My little sister went running/ Into the street bare naked/ The paramedics came and they took her away/ She was only being creative." ~ Edmontonian Ben Sures from his album Goodbye Pretty Girl

So what should I do, dear reader? Dare I throw my teeter-totter name into the ring for the Dean's position, an opportunity that I now have before me? Hell, we had a big meeting today and I'm the only one in the English department that seems remotely interested in the position, but yet I waver, unsure if this might be one of those times that I bite off more than I can chew.

I think it would look good on a resume, but maybe not. Maybe the quality of the school would be called into question if they have a teacher with all of three months experience suddenly running the English department. Maybe not, I suppose it would depend on how I told the story in a future interview. It would definately add some stress to my life, but I would be teaching 4 classes instead of 5, so maybe it's just a shifting of stress. Hell, I dunno if they even would consider me for the position, so maybe I do throw my name in and no harm, no foul kinda mentality.

I think I could handle it, altho the middle school curriculum is a little foreign to me. I do have some idea from teaching the G6 boys, but is that enough? I wonder, I wonder, I wonder....

I don't know and they want an answer from all those who are interested within the next 24-48 hours. Some of the older teachers who have been guiding me along this year seem to think it would be a good idea, but I am wary of letting their opinions or expectations sway me too much. Plus I wonder if I were to apply for it, would that be giving the wrong inpression to the admin about how long I plan on staying here? Probably, but maybe they are only looking for a quick-fix solution. See, this is what happens when you go for an hour long walk on the beach with your dog (who by the way, offered no real solutions, except for tail wagging).

I am confused, frankly, if this blog hasn't clued you in to that yet. I consider the implications of letting this opportunity go by, yet I wonder if my new-teacher fragile ego could handle such a load of expectations. Hmm, I'm gonna think it over tonight, see what the sunrise brings in terms of thoughts.

Take care of yourselves, drive safe on the icy roads.

A sovereign thought, delivered to your door at 6:38 AM ~~ 0 bonsai trees

shout out out out out out

========================================================================