Surly’s Neighborhood

It's day 3 of my Krabi vacation and it has been nothing short of wonderful. XD

So far, I've been to the most popular tourist and swimming spots:

• Railay Beach - famed for its shallow bay that allows you to go almost half a mile out to sea with the water only reaching your chest.
• Tup Island - for it's 'prayer waves' and famous sandbanks.
• Poda Island - for its white beach and clear water

Today was 'Pamper Yourself' day with our trip to the spa that took up the entire afternoon. I've never felt so moisturized and massaged in my life. At times, I felt like I was pickling myself. Lol. We also had a well-cooked dinner of a whole red snapper with sweet and sour sauce, stir fried morning glory buds with kangkung, beef green curry and tom yum soup.

Currently, there's some cultural festival happening on the street where my hotel is at. Full of traditional thai dance, food and pretty much everything you usually find at the annual Visit Thailand fairs they hold at malls with a more rustic taste. They've even got the cutest kids running around in formal white shirts and pink brocade bloomers.

Speaking of cute kids... I've met the most adorable toddler whom I've christened Bob AoNang due to his dancing and walking around the stalls with his hands on his hips and a sense of impunity and style that can only come from a 2 year-old.

Tomorrow, we're going to Phi Phi Don's famous wide beach. I'd post pictures but it takes too long from this netcafe. Even windows messenger takes forever to load... but that small snag isn't going to spoil anything, really.

*sighs* I feel so happy I could cry.

Day 1 of my holiday and it is awesome-ness...

AWESOME-NESS!!!!

^0^

After weeks of screwing around with the router... and calling my ISP, my router company... and having each one push the blame to the other and basically screwing around with my head, I've resorted to the most direct and low tech way of doing things....

Hence, this:

Sheerdesperation

Listening to: So-Ran Bushi - Kuriya/I Owe You a Love Song - Shiny Toy Guns

Its been an insane week. So it calls for a pretty random post as I just type whatever comes to mind.

The holidays have started but it hasn't felt like it really. It's been more of me being a total couch potato and recovering from all that running around since Term 3. 2009's been insane and I'm pretty glad that I can leave it behind soon.

Speaking of stupid, insane things... I got knocked down by a vespa getting out of the carpark. A little insane but at least, I fell into a puddle of water while wearing jeans. I got away with nothing more than a bad bruise on my my shin and some scratches a long my right arm which seem to be healing quite well. It's a pain to walk but no fracture, thank god.

My phone, on the other hand, isn't so lucky. It already had problems with the receiver and yesterday's drop was probably the killing blow. I've tried trouble shooting but it's permanently muted and pretty much a one way sort of phone where I can hear the other person but the phone just doesn't pick up my voice. Oddly enough, it picks up ambient noises. =.=

Thankfully, I've kept my tank of a phone. It's an Ericsson W8101. It's taken more damage than most of my other phones. I know it's positively prehistoric by now but my God, it's an awesome phone. If it can survive being drop-kicked (I dropped it squarely in front of my foot as I was walking and accidentally kicked it, sending it flying against a wall. >_<), and dropped into water... I think it can pretty much take whatever I can throw at it.

The Samsung Pixon M800 , on the other hand, has not survived past a month with me. I've dropped it twice but nothing spectacular. Certainly not as spectacular as being kicked like a football in mid-trajectory. The drops were the mundane sort like dropping it while I was fumbling with my bag.

It's pretty clear which phone I'm taking with me to Krabi. As much as I like my Samsung, I'm going with familiar reliability... so the Ericsson it is.

On another note, I learned something else this week. The only thing that you can be sure of is what you think. When Shakespeare said 'there's no art to find the mind's construction in the face', he sure got it right...

... which leads me to the next carriage in my train of thought...

I must positively get this book. I picked it up and found it pretty hilarious.

Twitterature: The World's Greatest Books in Twenty Tweets or Less

Alexander Aciman

Got this from one random blog. Thought it was pretty fun... since I have time to burn.

1) What author do you own the most books by?
Terry Pratchett, Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman - all tied with the same number of books.

2) What book do you own the most copies of?
That would be... 'The Little Prince'? I end up buying copies and giving to people as gifts. Either that or 'Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window'.

3) Did it bother you that both those questions ended with prepositions?
No... not really. Till now. :/

4) What fictional character are you secretly in love with?
Everyone loves Mr Darcy but... I would have to go with Demetrius from A Midsummer's Night's Dream. I suppose I just like the name. Plus, he's successful and hot... at least, in my mind.

5) What book have you read the most times in your life (excluding picture books read to children; i.e., Goodnight Moon does not count)?
Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window.

6) What was your favorite book when you were ten years old?
A compilation of tales by The Brothers Grimm

7) What is the worst book you've read in the past year?
The Historian... no wait, wait. =.= Freaking Twilight - all of them. I read the series so I could make a better call. It's still bad writing. Edward Cullen is still abusive. Bella Swan is spineless... and Jacob Black deserves a better mate than his best friend/ex-gf's Blade-esque baby.

8) What is the best book you've read in the past year?
Merde Happens by Stephen Clarke

9) If you could force everyone you tagged to read one book, what would it be?
Jingo by Terry Pratchett... because it is just that good.

10) Who deserves to win the next Nobel Prize for Literature?
No idea. I don't follow when I should? *shrugs*

11) What book would you most like to see made into a movie?
I don't know if I want to see any of my books made into a movie. Unless someone like Aronofsky directed it, I would rather play the version of the movie in my head. Too many bad examples.

12) What book would you least like to see made into a movie?
Future Stephanie Meyer books... goes without saying.

13) Describe your weirdest dream involving a writer, book, or literary character.
Surly won't have a problem with this but... hmmm.... probably the one with the X-Men and I was Nightcrawler's girlfriend. I have tons of weird dreams but that's the one I can remember at the moment.

14) What is the most lowbrow book you've read as an adult?
A romance novel. Red-haired rebellious temptress noblewoman who has to become a nun- check. Rebellious bastard sexy as hell prince - check. Bad one-dimensioned villain who is said prince's uncle - check. Lots of ridiculously hot sex - CHECK.

15) What is the most difficult book you've ever read?
The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera. For years it was my favourite book... but that honour has to go somewhere else now.

16) What is the most obscure Shakespeare play you've seen?
A really bad stage performance of The Taming of the Shrew.

17) Do you prefer the French or the Russians?
Haven't read enough of both to make a call.

18) Roth or Updike?
Neither. My favourite American writer is John Steinbeck.

19) David Sedaris or Dave Eggers?
Sedaris

20) Shakespeare, Milton, or Chaucer?
Depends on my mood but Chaucer.

21) Austen or Eliot?
Austen because she came up with the literary masterstroke of brilliance that is Mr. Darcy - hello?

22) What is the biggest or most embarrassing gap in your reading?
Too many to name. I have a tendency to return to my favourite authors.

23) What is your favorite novel?
Novel? Okay... East of Eden by John Steinbeck.

24) Play?
Men-At-Arms by Terry Pratchett

25) Poem?
Anything by Pablo Neruda.

26) Essay?
Can't remember any I've read... most of the time for assignments. :/

27) Short story?
Not a fan of those either. Can't remember any titles though I've read a few from time to time.

28) Work of nonfiction?
Shopclass as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work by Matthew B. Crawford

29) Who is your favourite writer?
Too many to name.... Steinbeck, Pratchett, Weis, Hickman, Austen, C. Bronte, Milan Kundera

30) Who is the most overrated writer alive today?
Stephanie freaking Meyer.

It's been a while since I blogged.

Been bogged down by a lot of issues lately. Life, work... sometimes it feels like its all spiralling out of control. There are days when I feel like I'm walking around with a fog in my brain.

I'm staying in the same school and within the level. I'll be missing a few friends next year - all the fun people seem to be leaving the place. Even if I don't talk to them much, they do liven up the atmosphere. One's married to a New Zealander and I can't help but feel so happy for her. She's moving there with him. Another got transfered out of the school due to the distance between her home and workplace... but it all simply reeks of politics to me.

Oddly enough, I felt productive at work yesterday. I was actually paying attention at the committee meetings and giving feedback which was what I've always thought I was supposed to do. I couldn't stop myself from contributing even when I thought maybe I should hold back.

Strange. Maybe it's because I've felt so powerless in this job for a long time and for once, I felt that yesterday's meetings were actually fruitful and worth the mental effort.

On another note, down with the flu again. Spud is back from Malacca and it's his birthday tomorrow. Lol. We're all getting old.

10:00:37 AM Azayakana Hana:

I had the weirdest vampire dream

starring the hottest guy my brain has ever come up with

10:01:58 AM : jEanETtE : N.E.E.D a holiday.:

who's the guy?

10:02:55 AM Azayakana Hana:

I have no idea. he was that good-looking.... I can't even tell if he's white.

 he's like asian/hispanic

and had a slice of TK-ness in him.

that smart, casual sexy aire

10:05:51 AM : jEanETtE : N.E.E.D a holiday.:

 must be all the white dad/asian mom/gothic child talk

10:06:12 AM Azayakana Hana:

anyway, apparently we were in America and I ran into him on the side of the road.

I was driving this huge SUV

and apparently, I was on some soul-searching road trip because Spud left me for Juliette Lewis

10:06:58 AM : jEanETtE : N.E.E.D a holiday.:

LOLOLO

10:07:21 AM Azayakana Hana:

and I picked up Vincent, at least that's what I think his name was, at the side of the road

apparently, he was a vampire

but I didn't find that out till much later

then there was a flashback as he told his story

apparently, he was a young college/high school student who was picked up at a bar by this woman

who brought him back to her place. a large luxurious house and he thought he was going to get laid.

which he did but eventually, he realised that he was also meant to be eaten

so he was running from the house, shirtless and only in his jeans

and they killed him

the vampires and they were about to leave him there before the woman who brought him realised that she liked him enough to resurrect him

but she did it as a pact with a demon because she wanted a plaything

I think she actually did love him but anyway, the demon said if she wanted to keep him at her side forever (because he freaked out and actually attacked her in self-defense), she would have to abide by certain rules

like this request could be granted but she had to be 'a mistress of pain instead of love' and she had to treat him like a pet because the spell was usually for familiars like animals not people

10:12:49 AM : jEanETtE : N.E.E.D a holiday.:

hey, this sounds like a book i read before..

10:13:04 AM Azayakana Hana:

really? okay, anyway lemme go on

so there are ways to break the spell

or the hold

she treated him pretty much like a mindless pet

so it was one of those BDSM master-slave relationships

only with hot people and no weird clothes

and she was actually blonde and plump

then one day, while he  was dabbling in some sort of ritual, he was granted his memories

and the demon who helped in the curse was summoned and told him everything

including the circumstances of his first death, his life and how to break the curse

apparently, he had to go through an entire list of tasks

and journey to the other side of somewhere

and get as far away from her as possible.

by this time, that woman was like the head of vampire coven or something

so it was kind of hard

but one day he managed to run, slaughtering a few vampire friends in the process and ended up at the side of the road, needing a ride - hence my SUV

and he told me this at the motel once we survived an attack from what seemed like the swat version of the vampires

I'm sure there was another subplot to this but I can't remember

the tasks ranged from serious to downright ridiculous

like 'entertaining people for four hours without letting them know what you are'

which we managed to do... despite a shootout with the vampire swat team.

I was designated getaway driver

10:20:53 AM : jEanETtE : N.E.E.D a holiday:

very intricate details.

10:21:10 AM Azayakana Hana:

yeah

there was also a shenanigan involving an Indian family who migrated there

and like... there was this bit

where they had women who were coming back from Halloween. and they were taking off their fake fangs

and he was laughing because he had to put on fake teeth to hide his fangs.

And we were eating in the car. I had burger and fries and he was having some blood he stole from the clinic.

10:36:01 AM : jEanETtE : N.E.E.D a holiday.:
hehe, just like a date.

It's been a blissful one week. It wasn't exactly as drama-free as I hoped it would be but it was still calming to be away from school for a few days and not have to deal with too much idiocy from the adults around me. A thought occurred to me last night that the bond would be ending in less than a year. 7 months to be exact. If not for the bond, I'm not sure if I would have stayed in teaching for this long.

While I really like classroom teaching, I don't like the other miscellaneous aspect of my job - responsibilities that are conveniently lumped under the 'ad hoc duties as and when the role/school requires'. It sounds harmless enough. Maybe helping out on the odd Saturday. Or coming in early to settle the kids for an excursion. But the danger of these 'ad hoc' duties is because its such a grey area, you can lump almost any other duty remotely connected to the role of a teacher under this category and expect it to be carried out.

This may include administrative work like collecting money or handing out pamphlets that advertisers hand to the school. Or the hard selling of certain items for school fund raising. Or participating in some insane record-breaking attempt.

I've got nothing against fund raising. I just don't like hard-selling. If I wanted to be in sales, I wouldn't have signed up for this job.

In the early days of my servitude, I felt no resentment for these 'ad hoc' duties. But soon after, I'm hit with the hard realisation of... teachers, even the slacker teachers, work much harder than the regular office worker for a paltry amount of money.

Okay, so I didn't sign on for this job for the money. I had an equally paying job at the past two companies I worked in with half the emotional baggage. So why trade those for this?

Because the difference in pay is supposed to be made up by the emotional payoff that I'm supposed to get from teaching. The satisfaction of a hard day's labour. That my effort is appreciated - not only by the students but by the organisation (and by that, I mean the school) that I work for. Obviously, if I felt the payoff, this post wouldn't have come into existence.

So, I'm resentful. A lot of teachers are. No other job (of this supposed level of professionalism) has people coming in from other occupations telling them what to do. You see it in the news all the time and from every country, without exception. And they put up with this because of the lofty ideal 'that everything we do, we do it for the students' that all schools perpetuate. Disagreeing with this just mars the very idea and implies a selfishness that most teachers never want to be accused of.

I'm inclined to think that most schools sucker their teachers into working harder, volunteering their time at the expense of their personal lives through a combination of emotional blackmail and legality. Overworked and underpaid (hours spent on grading and marking papers are apparently not to be counted in the 40-hour week but its a core component in a teacher's performance appraisal), I can't help but feel that at times, it's almost justified that office cannibalism takes place.

'Office cannibalism' being you screw the ones working with you within the same strata e.g. backstabbing, pushing tasks to fellow teachers - stuff that happens in a normal office but not supposed to in a staffroom full of teachers because come on, people... we're supposed to hold up values like Integrity and Honesty and Respect. Even if we can't, we're supposed to do it to the best of our abilities and not because it's the convenient thing to do.

Maybe, I'm just ranting. Maybe it's just the Monday blues but when these thoughts pop into my head, and its common for many teachers, I can't help but feel cheated getting into this job and find myself scouring through the job portals trying to find a suitable replacement.

And yet... yet after all this tiresome psychodrama... one smile from a kid the classroom makes me forget all the shit. This is hell because I love and hate it so much at the same time.

NB: Yes, the word 'supposed' does pop up a lot because that's what the profession really is these days. All about the appearance. Treat a school like a corporate structure and voila! You have one.