What I did Today

what i did today - 10/30/2001
Diary entries tend to be mundane when they chronologically list down what a person does in a day - at least that's what I think ... so i've never tried an entry that works chronologically - but here's an attempt:
0530 - Ring - alarm - shoot I have a stupid neck ache.
0545 - wake Ms Tan up after I'm done changing - she's actually been up since 0245 because of the rain. I potter downstairs first ...
0550 - Horrors. The floor of the dining room and kitchen is flooded. There are actually puddles of water that I have to swish through. The last time something like this happened, I was in secondary school and the house wasn't renovated yet ...
0600 - after ten minutes of ineffectually swishing water around (it's even gotten into the weights room), Ma comes down and exclaims at the sight "Wah so wet ..."
0601 - lift up the weights to clear out the carpet that is thoroughly soaked to the back ... make a mental note to exercise because the weights feel much heavier than when I last lifted them ...
0615 - race bus number 105 (in Ma's car) so that Ms Tan can get on it. Quite exciting - neck and neck at the red light but smaller bodies accelerate faster and we sneak into the bus bay before it ...
0625 - arrive in school - to see DL solitary in the carpark and still in his car.
0630 - sit down at my desk
0632 - Mr C maintains his record of being the first person to say hello to me everyday. Start reading book.
0640 - Mr C gives me an extra copy of the Hammer that he bought from a WP rally
0715 - Mrs K informs me that 14 Nov is Depavali and we can't hold the writing workshop on that day ... and that the 15 & 16, my alternate dates are possibly no good bec. of SEM meetings. Says she will check with VP about me being around during SEM meetings ...
0720 - Slouch outside to sing Marikita - don't sing because too disillusioned by singapore politics
0730 - Slouch back into the staffroom...
0735 - Mrs K says it's no good - I need to be around bec I'm in the SEM Comm. I make a weak protest that everyone won't be able to meet the deadline anyway and so the meeting will probably be pushed back ... even Mrs K objects to how lousy an argument it is ... I am pissed (slightly ...) because now need to make major readjustments of the workshop date.
0740 - after frantic SMSing and calls, A says Cat High is ok with the new dates (21 -22 Nov) and all systems are go !!!
0745 - determined to be busy so go into the TRC to type stuff. Inform Mrs K that the new dates are 21-22 Nov and ask her to tell the lower sec during their lifeskills ...
Manage to
a) write an email to a supplier of CD ROMs to come to school to do a preview
b)find out who the email addresses of the HODs of PJC and RJC
c)unsuccesfully try to log on to the Commenwealth Sec School site
d)key in 120 names for the sec 1s who gained distinctions for Intl com for Schools ...
d)type a letter to P of Cat High about Writing workshop ...
Brings me up to about 0920
0921 - Scout around staff room for someone to have a drink with - OTC just got back so she's out ... decide it can wait ...
0930 - try to mark extra compre and compo - which I now realise that I haven't finished and haven't put in my pigeon hole and that the kid will want it tomorrow after his pract - hiya - now i'll need to go in early to finish it before invigilation ...
1000 - punch holes and file away duplicates of results while looking at PSLE scores at the same time ...
1030 - go to canteen and ta bao two soon kueh - eat and read book
1040 - go to Com Lab 2 with OTC to prove that the online survey really works. Manage to complete one and submit without any probs ... WHY DOESN'T IT WORK WHEN THE KIDS DO IT - maybe too many at one time is the suggestion - them the kids should be allowed to do it at home ... apparently we can't trust them ...
1100 - finally decide to edit the WITs project for Oral English - only two teachers from the department have handed in although they were due yesterday (make a mental note that none of the senior teachers have handed in ...) and go into TRC to sort out the passages. Essentially we're writing out model "pix description" passages and trying to identify certain things to help the kids ... give an overview of the submitted passages ... and decide I better start on my own. Manage to finish one in about 15 mins - and reflect on how ridiculous it is given that the kids are supposed to prepare in less than 10 minutes ... but explain it away by telling myself that the effort is in making it relevant and appropriate to the level of the kids ... the dumbing down takes time ...
1120 - so finally start editing the submissions - sigh - too cheem and too simple - should I just leave it or should I make the changes ... I toy around with the font and highlights ... finally make some changes ... WHY DID I VOLUNTEER TO COLLATE?

what i did today 2 - 10/30/2001
1200 - decide to go and eat. Scout the canteen and realise it's not people I can have a decent conversation with (older CL teachers and Mrs L) sitting at the blue benches - so make do with sitting near the Muslim stall and eat rice with
a. Yummy drumstick
b.lady's fingers
c. fried egg without sauce
1215 - walk back to staffroom - say "hi" to kids at the benches - apparently some kind of harrassment over a wallet is taking place
1300 - accompany mr C to the canteen for a coffee before the long long long staff meeting. Talk about Chee Soon Juan a while and the PAP machinery. Drink Nescafe.
1330 - get ready for staff meeting
1340 - make sure I bring book for staff meeting
1341 - Have my longest comversation yet with M. She tells me that her kids are coming for the workshop and I state how I am pleasantly surprised by the overwelming response (by my standards, being used to Sec 4s who would never come for something like that - on the pretext of being too busy - ... and would find a new use for the form, 2 minutes after getting it ... "you need rough paper ...?") from the lower Sec. Already 16 out of 32 have indicated they want to come - which is more that I can take in ... and it isn't even the due date yet ...
1400 - staff meeting - read one chapter from the book during long debate about the wordings of the school vision: feel bad but hey - only five people are really interested. As always - the long discussion is just long discussion.
1600 - nearing the end of the meeting - wake up when Mrs K mentions that tomorrow's IRP slot will be used for IRP surveys ... am mildly pissed ... why bother telling me to put the survey on-line? Just because the technology doesn't work then we revert back to paper ... Actually happened already for the sec 3s so am not very surprised. We should just state for the record that the tech support is lousy and not waste time, esp. after converting and re-converting the survey so it would work on-line ... People take it for granted that it's a simple thing to do - but hey - it ain't that easy to figure out and it's labourious when you have to type our "Strongly Agree" "Agree" "Disagree" Strongly Disagree" over and over and over bec. the system is too primitive to do quick duplication ...
1630 - Meeting (finally) ends and apart from some M&Ms and laughs courtesy of LK and SO, nothing productive.
1630 - work on Arts Fest proposal with OTC while she toils away at her budget ... am excited about having a week for busking ... (fingers crossed)
1730 - leave for home
1800 - reach home, bathe and
1930 - have been ODing and emailing for the last hour or so ...
2015 - will leave to pick Ms Tan up from ballet then dinner ...