From the pens of my students...
"[T[here are somethings I did not like about this subject. I was kind of bored about some of the class activities, not an influence for me to get involved."
"Homeworks checked were not fair."
"This subject sometimes give too much freedom to do work, the student do not understand what the teacher need to teach."
"In fact I have no chance to study with foriegner teacher so I don't practise my English with real one."
"Some works I think I do it very well but I got a little points."
"The teacher always spoke English which I am not used to and become cause of headache." (And can you believe, a student in another class complained because his teacher didn't speak enough English? You can't please anyone!)
And my personal favorite:
"Moreover, my teacher speaks very quick. I know, I must listen her but it hard to understand what she said."
Final thought: Makes you almost wanna change occupations, doesn't it?
Another one of those dreams...
Had another Jensen Ackles dream last night. Must be in part attributable to this blog. All these photos of him - must be worming their way into my subconscious. Anyhow, it was your run-of-the-mill blue dream, hahaha. And actually, it was probably Dean Winchester, Jensen Ackles' TV alter ego, coz he was wearing a jacket with the collar turned up like Dean does. We were going to visit my best friend, in an office building I think. It was a pretty tall building, at any rate, and we were in the elevator and we got into a fight. He was saying something about how I'm too bossy and I got mad, probably coz it's true. So, I punched him (yes, I am a violent person) and he started bleeding from a split lip and I got really scared coz he got this crazy look in his eyes and I was thinking, "Oh boy, he's going to kill me". Instead, he reaches out and pushes the emergency button, which I readily admit, I have no idea as to its real mechanism, but in my dream, a loud alarm goes off for a few seconds and the elevator stops. I'm throwing stuff from my bag at him (a bunch of red pens and some lollipops, go figure), but pretty soon we're kissing. Then we go at it, and amazingly, there's enough room to move around. At one point, I hear my cell phone going off and I can tell it's the police (how would I know that? What's the number of the police department anyway? Would it even register?), but Jensen just picks it up and throws it against the wall, where it promptly smashes into smithereens. Of course, if it were reality, I'd be a) a bit panicked to be stuck in an elevator, and b) ticked off he ruined a perfectly good cell phone, but it's a dream, so I'm fine. I woke up laughing, coz it was such a silly dream. I mean, the naked part was good and all (is it ever bad in a dream? I doubt it), but of course, I know, it's a manifestation of my stress. Only a day before I have to turn in my grades and I have gotten almost nowhere checking one of my classes' final essays. Ugh. And it's almost midnight and I'm wasting time blogging and reminiscing about a dream. Pathetic, Anna. Really.
Final thought: Dean Winchester. In a elevator.
Hit repeat
Coz I'm stuck at work for most of the day, I have had to figure out a way to keep myself entertained when I don't feel like sloshing through yet another essay with parts copied directly off Wikipedia (you wouldn't believe how many of those I've actually seen - I'd rather have them write something completely unintelligible, but of their own authorship. I'd certainly applaud their effort). Well, the office isn't the best place for skeet shooting and ventriloquism is out of the question (after that one incident, which by law I'm not supposed to discuss...and I've already said too much), so it's mostly clamping headphones on and listening to music. I've realized something about myself - if I like a song, I can listen to it over and over and over again about twenty thousand times before I think, "Oh, okay, that's enough". I have a really high threshold for musical boredom. Don't know if that's a good or a bad thing. Used to know this person who would constantly be fiddling with his iPod - he had about a million songs on the damn thing, but he had to cycle through each one every freakin' hour because he would turn one on, listen maybe up to the chorus (if at all) and then be horribly bored by it. I'm not like that. I've been known to set one song to play over and over so many times, any other human being would probably be sickened by it. Just that kinda girl. Doesn't mean I don't have a playlist though - it's just a small one. Do you think there might be a correlation with music listening style and fidelity? Coz I am way too loyal for my own good. Something to think about. Anyhow, I'm gonna share some of the songs currently repeating themselves for my listening pleasure.
1. We Ride, Rihanna
Can't really stand her other stuff, but this song has me hooked. There's just something about it I can't quite put my finger on, but I like it. The lyrics are simplistic, the melody is pretty common and sad to say, Rihanna's voice isn't diva gold, but I don't know - this song just works for me. It's crazy, but nothing really stands out about this song. Even its message is cliched - same old "Why'd you do me wrong?" drivel. Yet, I keep listening to it! Must be the hypnotic chorus.
Sample lyrics:
Now I look back on the time
That we spent and
I see it in my mind
Playing over and over again
It's far and out
You got me breaking down
And I just can't figure out why
But this is what you say
Ride...
When we ride, we ride
It's till the day we die
2. I Love You More, Eminem
Let me get one thing straight. I hate Eminem. If he ever stepped in my country for a concert or whatever, it would take a massive amount of willpower for me not to confront him and open up a can of recently-shaken Pepsi all over his crude, foul-mouthed head. I don't believe in most of what he has to say (though I respect his right to say it), but what do you know? He actually wrote something I like. Of course, it's more idiocy about his ex-wife; I sometimes wonder if he would lapse into an intense case of writer's block if his family normaled up. Anyhow, it's more explicit blah blah blah. Fine. I still like this song. It's raw, it's aggressive, it's not at all politically correct. And I love it. Totally unconvential love song and it's fabulous.
Sample lyrics:
The more you, put me through
The more it makes me wanna come back to you
You say you hate me? I just love you more
You don't want me, I just want you more
I buy you flowers, you throw 'em at me
I know it's sad but it's making me happy
Coz you love me and I love you more
3. Ride for You, Danity Kane
I've been listening to this for a long while, and loved it from the start. I'm not actually sure what "ride for you" means, but I adore this poppy little tune anyhow. Again, another conventional contribution from formulaic girl group (and I say that nicely, coz I like formulaic) Danity Kane; nothing brilliant either lyrically or musically. It's just your plain old love song, jazzed up with some hip-hoppy language and some well-placed metaphors. Nothing snazzy. But it's cute. And comforting. And that's exactly why I like it.
Sample lyrics:
And know
Wherever you wanna take me, I'll go
I been with you for too long to start over with another
I know that you hear me
Just tell me you hear me
4. Give it to Me, Timbaland feat. Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake
My tastes, I readily confess, are more than a tad commercial. And who today knows what the people want more than Timbaland? Practically no one. First listen of this song doesn't really hit you. My personal reaction was - "Oh, that's nice". Nothing like the "Oh my God!" I felt the first time I heard that Timbaland-produced dance-techno-what-have-yo u tune SexyBack. That was a phenomenal song. It was designed to hit you in the gut. You either adored it or abhorred it. I was the former. Not so for this single. It gets good with repeated listenings, and it's just fun listening to all three of these artists together on one song. I can't help but feel I'm listening to a father and his two children collaborating on something. Final verdict: Good song.
Sample lyrics (this part belongs to Justin):
Could you speak up and stop the mumbling
I don't think you're getting clear.
Sitting on the top it's hard to hear you
from way up here.
I saw you tryin' to act cute on TV
just let me clear the air.
We missed you on the charts last week
Damn that's right, you wasn't there.
If sexy never left,
then why's everybody on my sh*t?
Don't hate on me
just because you didn't come up with it.
So if you see us in the club,
go on and walk the other way
Coz our run will never be over; not at least until we say.
5. What Goes Around (...Comes Around), Justin Timberlake
It's not an angry song; it's quietly enraged. I like that. I loved Cry Me a River (his musical diatribe against ex Britney Spears), and people are saying this is Cry Me a River Part II. Maybe. It's a mature song, at any rate - the accusations are more of the "Watch out for bad karma" variety than the blatant "You suck!" variety in Cry Me a River. And the music, God, the music...it's almost metaphysical. It's a little over five minutes, but it's not enough for me. It's pretty much condemnation of an unfaithful significant other, and the lyrics are admittedly run-of-the-mill, but the combination of it all...I love it. Period. And it's just accusatory enough for me; I like songs that are mad. Probably coz I'm usually mad. And just off on a tangent, I guess feelings of heartbreak are rather standard, since what he sings is how I feel about Mr. Heartbreaker. Creepy.
Sample lyrics:
Is this the way it's really going down?
Is this how we say goodbye?
Should've known better when you came around
That you were gonna make me cry.
Coz I know that you're living a lie
That's okay baby, coz in time you will find
What goes around, goes around, goes around
Comes all the way back around
Final thought: It's gonna take me awhile to bore of these songs. I wonder if I'm the only one like that?
Genetically predisposed to rant?
Tons of grading due. Gross, I hate grades more than ever now - if you can believe it, it's much worse on this side of the desk. I'm sitting there, looking at all these columns of numbers (and FYI, I hate numbers, major reason why I left the science field) and somehow, through some calculatory (no, I don't think that's a real word) magic, I have to make them make sense to not only myself, but also to my students, their parents and the faculty. Ugh. Ugh. And ugh again. Oh dear, here I am, complaining again. Do you think being cranky is genetic? I think it might be partly, only I didn't get it from my parents. My folks are two of the most upbeat human beings you could ever meet. They see the silver lining in every cloud, the good in everyone. It's enough to make me sick sometimes, hahaha. At any rate, I think I got it from my great-aunt, much as that pains me to say. She's one of the moodiest women on Earth, but thank God, I think I have one up on her coz I'm pretty rational, if I set my mind to it. Even when I'm on a tirade, I can still see reason - whether or not I choose to acknowledge it is another story, however.
Final thought: Some traits skip a generation, I guess.
A Current List
Due to the current circumstances of my life, there's not much that's really postable. Let's just say my life is in a whirlwind and not the good kind. Wanting to take time off from checking papers, however, I've decided a nice little list would fit the bill. Since I am very much living in the now, here's a list of my currents.
My current...
1. Ringtone? The X-Files theme song. Natch.
2. Complaint-inducer? Inaccurate use of the semicolon.
3. Ailment? Whisperings of carpal tunnel syndrome. Again.
4. Hairstyle? Pulled back with a barrette.
5. Perfume? Red Door by Elizabeth Arden. Lovely and lively.
6. Craving? Calamari, strangely enough.
7. Desktop background? Jensen Ackles, in a white shirt with the first button undone. Yummy!
8. Ear worm (i.e. song stuck in my head)? I Love You More, Eminem (I hate the artist, but love this song.)
9.Stains on my hands? Red ink and white-out. (Oh, the joys of writing on things for a living!)
10. Thing on my mind? Everything and the kitchen sink.
Final thought: Lots of hard decisions and a pile of work the height of K2. Life is truly beautiful - NOT!
No "I"!
Rantfest. It's hot and I'm sticky. I have just plowed through a dozen papers that got nowhere near the point, not even by accident and not only that, only one person (ONE!) remembered not to use first-person personal pronouns. Ugh. I am so glad I was always the model student. Therefore I know this is not the result of bad karma; at any rate, not bad karma accrued by being an awful student. Sigh. Okay, just wanted to put that out there. Gotta put my nose back to the grindstone if I'm gonna be able to submit scores on time.
Final thought: Formal writing does not use "I" or "we" or "our" or "you". Geez, how hard is that to remember?
Loves of my current life
There are so many negative things in my life right now, it wouldn't do me any good to dwell on them. Therefore, in celebration of that oh-so-saccharine of holidays, Valentine's Day, I present a list of the things I love at this exact moment (a list which thus excludes my family and friends, coz I love them always). Perhaps it'll help uplift my rapidly falling spirits. And yes, the culprit is work. And my social life - what's left of it. But as I said, I won't dwell. Here's what I love right now:
I love...
1. Jensen Ackles! No doubt about that. Those cheekbones just kill me and those pouty lips? Get outta town! I love his wisecracking, tough-on-the-outside, sad-and-creamy on the inside, fast-shooting interpretation of Dean Winchester. Plus, he's cute.
2. Naturally, Supernatural, the part investigative series, part horror movie, part road trip flick, part coming-of-age schmaltzfest (phew!) that features the ever-adorable Jensen Ackles.
3. My office! Is there anything more fantastic than having your very own office? I know that keeping my door shut all day probably makes me seem like I'm a tad bit antisocial, but at this point, I don't really care. I like having my own private place, where I can close out all the noise and chaos. And have a place to put up my feet after sitting through half a dozen ill-prepared presentations and listening to a much larger number of whiny students. (Just kidding, they're not so bad, but everyone needs a break sometimes.)
4. My red pen. I am currently thinking of names for it (don't know if it's male or female yet), because with the amount of time we've been spending together, we are definitely on a first-name basis. I'm thinking something along the lines of Cherry or Rhubarb, but thinking those might be too cliched - you know, just going with the whole red thing.
5. News Flash! I just love my five minutes every morning at six a.m. (yes, that's right, before the sun comes up) when I get to share a little bit of anything deemed newsworthy by Radio Thailand with insomniacs, early birds and people on the morning shift. It's five minutes where I can just be. It's me and the technician and those perhaps five people who are awake at that hour. We've got a specific format and whatnot, but I love to shake things up every morning. It's my time and I love it.
Final thought: Spread the love!
Ambidextrous
It's just been one of those weeks. At my office right now are three enormous stacks of student workbooks, waiting to be graded. I'd get to them - only the problem is I have yet to finish commenting on the interviews my students conducted as part of our official "Talk to a Foreigner" project and I'm about three-quarters of a way done with checking their vocabulary lists. All in all, it's been a hectic week. My red pen and I are now on extremely intimate terms, seeing as how I spend more time with it than with my family or friends. Goldfinger stopped by today. He helped by putting red Xs on all the first-person pronouns, contractions and sentences beginning with "because", "and", "so" and "but". Got through only one of my sections before he pleaded blurred vision and quit. Pansy. (Just joking; he really helped shave a significant amount of time from my workload and I am eternally grateful.) Coz of my burgeoning fear of carpal tunnel, I have severely limited my computer usage time, which is hard, since I am such a computer nut. However, it's really helped, coz the more extreme pains have vanished and soreness in general has diminished. Phew. Now, all I gotta do is become ambidextrous. That would share help me.
Final thought: Wouldn't it be great to be ambi-everything?
Carpal Tunnel Risk
Am worried about getting carpal tunnel syndrome. Seriously. I spend more than half my time on the computer these days. That can't be good. Went out and bought one of those cute, squidgy, jelly-filled wrist supports, but it isn't terribly effective. Maybe I got a bum one. At any rate, I've been getting weird sensations in my right arm. Then again, I have really been overexerting it. Both my jobs require a ton of writing. My pen is now my new paramour. There are permanent ink stains all along my right hand, with the occasional smear of white-out. It's times like this I wish I was ambidextrous. So, I've been trying to limit my computer use at home, but it's hard, you know? My life is so tied into media, it's crazy. I'm a TV baby. I'm a computer geek. I gotta have my tunes. I love my books. I'm always surrounded by entertainment, it's nuts. Anyhow, gonna try and put a cap on my computer usage, if possible. For the sake of my arm at least.
Final thought: Typing doesn't lead to carpal tunnel syndrome, does it?