The Morning Where All Was Revealed

Let me tell you a story.

My duty this morning was to confirm the attendance of the P1 level. The Form Teachers will mark the attendance during assembly when the boys have already assembled and give the files to the General Office. My duty is to then collect these files (of an assigned level) and to go around to the classes confirming their attendance. I will then report my findings back to the office who will then have another teacher assigned to call up the absentees to enquire as to why they are not present in school for that day.

A bloody waste of time if you ask me. I do not believe THAT is part of our job scope. A free period is not for us to be forced to do work that we did not sign up for. Then you complain... no, provide feedback that we are inefficient or cannot seem to make deadlines. Bah.

So... on my rounds, I could not find 1 class. I literally searched high and low for the class - walked up and down levels. I looked at the timetable and saw that it was EL so I listed out the possible locations that the teacher could have taken the class to. It was 3 periods so it had to be a comfortable venue. Strange. All my options turned up nil. I went back down to the class and found 3 boys inside. Here's our exchange:

Me: Hey boys, do you know where your class is?

Them: Probably in the Dance Studio.

Me: What? What lesson is it now?

Them: English.

Me: And they're in the Dance Studio? Do you normally have your classes there?

Them: Yea. Sometimes here. Sometimes there.

Me: Okay. Do you want to follow me up?

Them: No. We usually stay here and do our work.

Perplexed, I was. A state of disbelief I was in. So I made my way up to the Dance Studio and all was revealed. Yes, she had her Modern Dance boys rehearsing AND she had her English class seated in the corner... not doing work, but watching the rehearsals. My my my... from the 3 boys' response, I'm guessing this isn't the first time either.

Glad that I've finally found the class and that I can go back to the staffroom to do some REAL work, I made my way to the General Office. I bumped into management and reported my findings in the most diplomatic way possible. Oh, you know *** ***, I had a tiring morning today... I lost a class... Had to walk all over tha place.... laughs.... I told everything as how I saw it. Management's response? I take it that this is feedback and not a complaint. That was very biting and I was slightly taken aback. Management was neither angry, upset nor baffled but seemed annoyed at me for a reason. I even was told off for not bringing the boys up to the Dance Studio!

Hey bitch! That ain't my class and it ain't my responsibility. I'm doing my rounds under your command. Plus, I did ask the boys to go up but they said that they were told to stay in class and to do their work. Seems to me like they're used to this system of things. Why don't you ask the subject teacher who's at this moment conducting CCA instead of a lesson. Of course, what I said was much more streamlined and coherent than that.

Management's only other response was that she'd have a word with PE HOD and the teacher's RO. I was dismissed after that.

My my my... the things that people can get away with... now, imagine if that were me... I would be sacked if I attempted a stunt like that brave but well protected teacher.

I am so jaded and Kravitz's Fly Away is playing right now. Heh. I love my shuffle play; it has never failed me.

Bright Side

This first week of school has been a real killer. It's only the first week and I already feel like I'm dying! I can barely keep my head above the water. The work has yet to pile up and thankfully I'm on top of my marking but it's the mad rush of trying to keep up that's going to get me into a cardiac arrest. This is a very short term, with all the holidays and the PSLE marking and what nots. Plus we end 2 weeks early.

My to do list ended up being 2 pages long with close to 30 items for me to do. I planned out the term calendar to see how much work I can allocate to my boys to prepare them for the final year exams... trust me, it did not look good at all. It looks good on paper but it means that I must sacrifice my social life for this term :( I've to clear my marking daily just to keep up with giving them daily homework.

Gah.

On a more personal note, having dinner and then coffee with her was such an eye opener. She's such a nice person to be around. She's frank, not so street-smart but not gullible. She is truly a visionary leader. She'd make a good girlfriend. I do hope we can keep in touch once we're both out of this hell hole.

I'm still in school coz it's our P2 Speech and Drama (night) Performance. Which means another late night for me this week... hopefully not till past midnight again!!

To The Girlfriends!

I miss my girls. They're the best thing to have ever happened to me. They truly know me and they understand me better than most. I daresay even better than my family. Kudos to Zahara for organising the dinner. It was great seeing them and catching up on lost years.

I didn't have any intention of sharing too much information about my work or personal life but like I said, they know me. They could sense that I was burdened and it only took one simple question and a squeeze of a hand for me to start pouring my heart out. The dams were broken.

I shared about my unhappiness and frustration at work and how I was so close to giving up... for good. They listened to me, without interrupting me - now that's great friendship. I hate it when people interject my stories with stories of their own. I'll be like what's up with that? It's my story now... chill, I'll give you time for yours...

Anyway, I couldn't lie to them and tell them that everything's alright. I tried but they saw right through me. They're amazing - gems... truly gems. It was good though, getting all of that off of my chest. I've been meaning to share my woes with someone but I've lost the one person I could really talk to and everyone else has their own issues to sort out. So Zahara's dinner couldn't have come at a better time.

They gave me the strength and support that I needed and the promise that they'll be there for me whenever I need them. I love you guys so much!

Junior Returns

Ryan informed me that Junior was looking for me today.

I admit, at one point of time, I was really into Junior and loved the attention that he was giving me. Then I realised that things between us were getting a tad too weird for my liking and I decided to stay away from Junior. I deleted his number, blocked him from Google chat etc.

When I did text him months ago, there was no reply so I didn't give much thought to it. Now he's missing me? Hmmm... I admit that I am tempted to contact him... he is so charming... sigh... trust me to get involved in a mess like this.

Perfection

Family Day was wicked as usual! It's my favourite school event in the whole year! It's a great time to chill, let loose and really have a ball with the colleagues and the boys. I did Shift C which pretty much means I'm down the whole day (8:30 - 3:30 pm) but being in the organising com means coming early to help out and leaving late to... help out. Not that I mind of course. I mean, I was exhausted beyond belief but like I said, Family Day's the bomb!

So what was I up to? I went around impressing my colleagues with my bargaining skills. I managed to play loads of free games, get free food and great discounts etc... courtesy of my ex students from the pri and sec side. My form class put up a performance but once that was done, I was free to roam the carnival. It was much smaller and far less appealing than last years' and Them Boys did not drop by but as you know, I'm self entertained...

After the carnival was over, the organising com stayed behind to count coupons. We didn't add up the total of the individual stalls but I really doubt that we hit our target of a quarter mil. It was nearing 7pm once we were done and I was starving so I headed down to Sakae Sushi at J8 for some take away. Only 45 minutes later did I manage to walk out with my order. Geez. I could have just eaten in and would have been done with my meal by then.

But as luck would have it, guess who I saw just as I left J8!! Da Weng, Earnest and Ivan :) Honestly, I was contemplating calling out to them - We hung out twice this week already and it was Saturday night, I didn't want to impose on guy time. Plus, they must be sick and tired of seeing so much of me! And I was smelly, exhausted and hungry. But I did call out and I'm glad I did. It turned out to be the perfect end to an already perfect day :)

We stood by the taxi stand, catching up. Hmmm... Can you call it catching up if we've already met twice that week? Anyway, we were catching up and I kept on mentioning to them that I didn't want to hold them back nor impose on their personal time but being the darlings that they are, they assured me that I was doing no such thing and that they were glad we bumped into each other. The only thing they had planned was to order in and chill at Da Weng's place. Then I had a brilliant idea; I told them that if they didn't mind, we could all chill somewhere and feast on my Sakae take-away. There were grins a plenty :)

They immediately helped to carry my handbag, the food bags and this bag filled with letters / cards / notes from the boys in school. We walked to Bishan Active, sat on the floor and started feasting on our sushi spread. Imagine, they felt guilty about "stealing" my food and they made sure that I had my share before they had seconds and kept on promising me that they'd take me out sometime soon. Come on now, saw awww....

It was a beautiful night and I had delicious food and amazing company. Our conversations ranged from school / office politics, to relationships, to reminiscing our 2 year friendship and even to sharing of crazy-cannot-be-mentioned-here antics. Oh, the 3 of them had a wild time reading the letters from the boys in school. You know how Lower Primary boys can get... Ms Parveen I love you... You are my favourite teacher... You are so pretty... Thank you for teaching me... I want to marry you... I want to buy a house for you... etc etc... True story, even the house-buying one. The kid actually drew me a picture; my house was in between his and his best friend and we were a stone's throw away from Bishan Park.

Time flew by so quickly and I didn't want them staying out so late... turns out it's a normal affair for them. Sometimes they'd be up till 4 in the morning hanging with each other. Once they even ordered McDs' for breakfast at around 5-ish! But I needed my sleep so I took a cab home while they headed to Cheers to quench their thirst. It was a quarter to midnight by the time I reached home. Calling it a great night would be an understatement.

Someone's Looking Out For Me

Chuan Shen visited today :) I'm glad he's taken a keen interest in religion; it's really put him in the right path and he has changed for the better.

After checking out the hall for this Sat's Family Day, I planned to head home and snooze but when CS and Yi Rong dropped by, I decided to hang with them for a wee bit. Little did I know that they decided to call up Avery and Ivan as well. How could I resist not meeting my darlings ;)

So what planned to be a short appearance turned out to be a full 6 hours (4pm - 10pm) hang with Them Boys. Man, time flies when you're having fun. Cliches do have some truth in them after all. It was freaking awesome reminiscing with them and hearing their stories. They've grown up so much - so matured and far-sighted and not forgetting so dashing too. They've really turned into such fine young gentlemen. Speaking of which, the one thing I am thankful for about this place is Them Boys. They've made my stay here bearable and seeing them twice in one week have been the highlight of my week. True story.

Coincidentally, I received a letter that I wrote to myself during a Teachers' Conference some months ago. Before you think I've lost it... we were told to write a note to ourselves, including bits of what we've learnt / seen / heard / shared at the conference. They told us that some time near Teachers' Day, they'd mail the note to us. Here's what I wrote to my future self:

Dearest Parveen,

I want you to remember that Teachers are full of themselves. They say much but act very little. Remember this so that you will not be like them. Remember that you are approachable, kind and compassionate. These are good values to have. Never ever let anyone tell you to change who you are. You can make a difference. You have inspired and you will continue to inspire. Believe in yourself.

Love, Parveen

I swear, this could not have come at a better time. Just when I was on the verge of quitting, Them Boys paid a visit and lifted up my spirits, reminding me why I love my job so much and then to receive this letter... it further reinforces that reminder. Coincidence? I think not.