Hot Under the Collar

Posted new photos on my Fotolog* today for the first time in a month. Just haven’t been doing any of my own things lately, and while that’s been paying for all of my expenses and purchases from Amazon, it’s not given me the same level of satisfaction I would have gotten otherwise.

But the satisfaction is there nonetheless. I am doing my own thing. While I may not be earning as much as I would have had I stayed in teaching and staying on as HOD, it’s enough to get by (and to pay for a vacation to Vancouver this June, thank you very much).

And there’s so much more freedom to savour.

Starting Thursday, I placed myself on a floating time-table. I went in only at half-past 8 and worked my requisite 5.5 hours to get the full rate. Today, it was half-ten when I got in and I still managed my quota.

A far cry from my last year of teaching and my first period on Thursdays was at 2.15 pm. In a school that didn’t allow teachers to pass their free time in the staff room logging on to online crossword puzzle sites, it. Was. Hell. Because that would be bad for morale. Or so sayeth TPTB. Right. Because other teachers cannot manage their time properly and therefore end up marking/preparing/meeting all the time, I am being punished for being too efficient? You’ve finished your work? How can that be?

Why don’t you patrol the corridors more? Uh, right.

***

Speaking of administrators.

Pop quiz:

You’re an administrator (and I say it like it is a bad thing). One of the people you’re supervising is pregnant and has been on MCs, on and off, for a period of time. Do you:

a. because you are also a mother of kids, fully support the employee’s choice to have kids and understand that the body isn’t quite what it usually is and not give her too much grief about it; or

b. tell her that she’s ‘only pregnant’ and that pregnancy is ‘not a disease’ and that if she gets too many more MCs between now and the popping of the kid, she wouldn’t get a good grade come performance bonus time and she may not get promoted in the short term. Hell, I might just terminate your contract. That'll teach you to spread your legs so easily next time.

Hmmm. If I were an administrator, which would I choose?

***

Weather is still bad. I was sitting under one of those industrial-strength chrome fans and all I got was a hint of a breeze every once in a while.

Not good.

Gone are the days when I could wear three layers of shirts to school and not complain.

***

Well, so much for the possibility of watching a hockey when we’re in Canada. The Vancouver Canucks are now trailing the Calgary Flames 3-2 in their quarterfinals series.

Dang! There goes the cultural programme for the trip.

***

* From the trip to Sedili over the Easter Weekend. And for the people who are keeping track, my teeth are better now. Thanks.