Puppet Supreme

but soft, what light through yonder window breaks? i woke up super early this morning and felt both relieved and empty at the same time. i'm not even talking about poop.

second practicum has concluded.

i have been stretched and pulled and spun about. flitting back and forth between excited-to-learn english students and i-hate-school science students was a mental hurdle too high to jump in one go. it took several tries.

i already miss them all.

navigating between existence as a teacher and as a student is a cobblestone road to tireless wheels. it is a bumpy, noisy ride and that coffee you thought of drinking is now making its way through your pants, but it does not invigorate you down below.

i have so many assignments awaiting my attention.

feelings are so much more multivalent now: there is joy and pain in love; there is fulfillment and frustration in teaching. i don't know whether to laugh or cry, leap or laze, fly or fall.

the finish line approaches and it is time for the rest of my life.
parting is such sweet sorrow.

lost and found

i was printing something today when i noticed a notebook off to the side. i peeked inside. they were my high school notes from grade 12! sweet! free teacher resources! and look! doodles!!!!

click for more

words to hang my hat on

i had a bit of trouble in science class today. the lesson was fine, according to my associate teacher, but i felt like a bruised apple. it was very frustrating to have the students i've worked so hard to earn the respect of fritter away class time by disrupting things because i didn't know how to chorale them or focus their attention. hello, feelings of inadequacy. thanks for dropping by and ruining my life!

the educational assistant in the class (because it's a class that needs one) came over at the end of the period to debrief me on the guys who are the behavioural issues. usually, she tells me a bit about their backgrounds, and those stories are the ones you don't want to hear; they're really good kids and it kills me that this is their lot in life. today, she told me about a conversation she had with them because of today's antics.

"guys, you like mr. chan, right? you're smart; you know what effect your behaviour has and you know when you're crossing the line, so why do it? you're making him think it is his fault. this guy is brilliant and could be doing just about anything he wants, but he is choosing to be here to help give you guys a running start in life. don't you think he deserves a bit of your respect?"

damn well nearly made me cry on the spot.

14 for C pls

what have i been saying all along?
now someone else, who is more famous and actually paid for it, and others are starting to say it too.

the one in which a lot of things happened and then i wrote about them

placemarker post for the time being. i will decorate it with words and so on when i has have the time. see the wonderful labels for a brief taste of things to come.

[REALLY]
i went to the Ishskwaday 08 conference last weekend at TKPC. note to self: try to avoid conferences the weekend before school starts up after a march break holiday because you will be completely thrashed for the rest of the week. there was going to be a writeup with commentary and anecdotes, but who would read that? point-form play-by-play it is!

Friday:

got there early (2:40 pm) for a 7:30 pm start because i was told they needed volunteers and moyee was supposed to be there for worship team practice at 3. way too early.

saw Pastor Rolland for the first time since Longlac, and learned that his name had 2 l's.

so it turned out they had enough volunteers. commence loafing about and developing mental map of church. it is shaped like a Superman crest.

got a name tag. the registration desk was covered in Macbook.

listening to Broken Walls practice their set and struggle through trying to communicate with the AV team. the band was used to AV teams that understood the lingo (EQ, 128 Hz, monitors, drum sample, etc). it was pretty painful for me to watch and hear.

went for a walk. snowballed some geese. hopped a fence and trespassed through a snow-covered schoolyard on closed-circuit camera wearing aforementioned name tag. brazen!

Jaffray attendees arrive, hungover from TC. weird stories and giggling ensues.

program starts and everyone wants to wait for the bus from Longlac to arrive, but they're behind schedule.

speaker is hilariously candid and remarkably learned.

who hates colonialism? everyone.

who knows what colonialism is? i do, thanks to Early American Literature

looks like someone is not a fan of legalism and is not afraid to name names. they're like prescriptive linguists.

Longlac friends arrive!

Justin remembers me: "hey! it's robot man!"

man, they sure love their Koreans. who wouldn't?

Saturday

it's not as early as school, but it is still early. i wonder if i'll survive workshops (3 of them!). i should go pick them.

the first workshop was led by the keynote speaker. more elaboration on why colonialism is not the way to go about evangelizing.

"missions shouldn't be like putting a potted plant into the ground; it should be like planting the seed of the Gospel into the native soil and letting the nutrients of the culture feed the Word and allow it to blossom the way it is supposed to."

you can't have unity without diversity

lunch! settled for McDonald's. played Contact for way too long.

nothing much of note in other workshops, unfortunately

apparently, someone else out there came up with a cracked jar story.

final keynote message: repeat of first workshop. oh yay!

friendship circle dance = longest sideways conga line i've ever participated in

some people danced all night while others stood to watch.

there was a little 6 yr old girl in full regalia gracefully dancing her heart out. she was like a beautiful wind, twirling and flitting about amongst the legs of other dancers.