Attitude is Everything!

Somehow, I managed to change my attitude towards work.

Perhaps I achieve less, but at least, I feel much better now.

Less quantity, but higher quality, I hope.

Doing things that I believe is good for the students.

Sometimes I hope that issues in life are more manageable, but then, a little challenge in my otherwise dull life, wouldn't hurt, would it?

Rest In Peace, Mr. Shakespear Tsang

Shakespear was a fellow student of teachers college in my university last year.

He passed away on November 11, after our commencement ceremony.

He was definitely one of the most dedicated teachers I have met.

He was hard working, kind and very devoted in teaching.

His death is a loss for us all.

The school where I teach is Shakespear's alma mater. It is also where he did his practicum.

A poster was put up in the school just recently. It shows the quotes "A mediocre teacher tells. A good teacher explains. A superior teacher demonstrates. An excellent teacher inspires."

Shakespear was an inspiration.

May God bless his soul. May he rest in peace.

Rainy Days

May be it's the rain, or may be it's the dark sky.

I am in a bad mood.

My job spares me no time. My lover wants more of my time. She needs it. I know, but I can't give. This just hurts me so much.

I am way off balance.

Quit? I can't. It's not the best option for the career.

Rant about it? Not good either. It lowers my efficiency, and causes my work to take up even more of my time.

I need more spare time to do well in my job and get back my life. My job needs more of my spare time. Damn Catch 22 situation!

Perhaps, it's not the rain after all.

Getting on my nerves

I have a tendency to think too much.

I tend to create problems for myself.

or so I was told.

What should I do with my job? Is good pay and stability all I need from it?

What if I am not happy with what I do? "Make yourself happy with you job", some say.

Should I not quit because it would be viewed as giving up when faced with a challenge?

Does it mean that I am not strong enough simply because I chose not to "suck it up"?

I honestly think that I would perform better in another job. The problem is, I probably won't get it.

Life sucks sometimes.

The grass is greener on the other side

It's about time. The evaluations of my job performance, both internal and external, are coming.
It's also time when I look back and evaulation what I have been doing for the past 1.5 months.
Priorities changed. Time managment changed. Sometimes, I just can't believe that it has been that long. "I should be glad that I have a job", I tell myself. "Don't think too much. Just do it." That's what I did. More or less.

Somethings worked out okay. Some didn't. Some tough choices to make. What do I value more? Career (especially one that I may not stay for long)? My relationship with others (who may stay with me longer)? Do I have to make this compromise? Can I juggle all these balls? Here lies the challenge.

A wise person reminded me today. "The grass is greener on the other side" when evaluting my career paths. It's important not to fool myself. True, but should I give up evaluating?

2 Months

It has been that long again since I blogged.

Why? A lot have happened. So much that I am having difficulty handling them all.

Am I doing the right things? Am I thinking too much?

Am I the only one involved in my decisions now?

Which is more important? A job? A possible alternate career? A girlfriend?

Trust my instincts? My guesses were almost all correct. So predictable that perhaps I WAS thinking too much.

I need to spice up my life, or I may go crazy soon.

Flashbacks

It has been a while since I have blogged.

A lot of things have happened, including a home moving.

Living in the same house for the last 10 years means having a lot of things to sort, pack, dump, sell, recycle or give away.

Of course, sorting through old stuff means finding a lot of things and recalling a lot of memories. Memories of sweet times and others.

I have had multiple flashbacks. It feels like having to relive the last 10 years.

What can describe my current state of mind? I don't know. Too many mixed feelings.

One thing is for sure, I want to treasure what I have now, and not take things for granted.

Politeness

It has been a month since I last blogged.

A lot has happened. Most of them too private to be blogged though.

I had done a lot of thinking. I have to make yet another big decision soon.

Oh well, that's not what I am here for.

The Reader's Digest latest Politeness Survey of different cities around the world is.

Though it is an admittedly unscientific survey, it got me thinking people in certain cities behave in certain ways.

The lower ranking cities then to be very densely populated cities, where if you hold the door open for the next person, you may end up standing there all day because of the constant flow of people.

A regular scene in Hong Kong comes to mind. At busy subway stations, passengers often have to crowd with some 100 or so people, who all trying to get on one escalator at the same time. However, there are no pushing or yelling. Everybody just try to move slowly towards the entrance and letting people go first, when appropriate. It may not look very polite per se, but it proves to be the most efficient way of doing so. Yielding when needed, nothing excessive. Of course, when a disabled person approaches, everybody yields. Is this politeness? I would think it is. People probably don't show it, but they are polite.

New Yorkers are the most polite? They are all business over there, so why not? They must appear to be so for their own good.