Just a thought....
Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

Saturday, 28 August 2010

Saturday deminishes into a pile of catch-up activities

I'm so far behind now, catching up is actually a joke. Let's see.... the weekend started....

Last night, I was ready to step into the shower when I noticed that Specs was strangely missing. She usually hangs around my feet when I'm getting ready in the bathroom. I looked over into the bedroom. No cat on the bed. I looked on all the chairs. Nada. I then took the torch and looked under the chairs, tables and cupboards. Nothing. I donned my gown and ran outside barefoot. I looked up and down the passages. No cat.

Thoughts of, "Omg, what will I tell Tat?" were running around in my head. I looked upstairs, in and around all the little nooks and crannies. I scanned the rooftops by torchlight. I went to the main house... upstairs, nothing... downstairs, nothing. I checked window sills for kitty paw prints in the layers of São Paulo dust. Then I checked the tops of walls. Nothing. Nada. I controlled the panic that was setting in and decided to go ahead with my shower.

When I finished showering, I went to bed. This is what I found...


Can you see it??

*mentally throttles cat*

This morning is laundry and general housework time. Throw into that mix a kitchen sink that needs to be removed, so we can cement it in place. It is totally loose and supported by random planks. The kitchen is currently a disaster zone.

I need to spend a few hours preparing something for my students this week. Most of them are great. Their needs are simple. Then there are the horrors *sigh* I have these teens who come from a supposedly good family. They are destroying me, slowly but surely. No, forget the slowly part. I come away from that class feeling depressed and fairly useless. Their talk is smutty. They have no respect for man or beast. One brat's idea of a great way to be rich is to have his own zoo with lions, tigers, hippo's, etc that he can hunt and kill as he wishes. They eat (if you can call it that) unashamedly in class. The one stood arguing with his brother with a very full mouth and bread spraying as he was talking.



The other fights sleep all the way through... when he bothers to fight it. The third takes delight in telling me that he knows better. I tell him that if he does know better, he needs to prove it. I know teens 'test' people, but they're taking the testing to a whole new level. Their language would make a sailor blush. They seem to go out of their way to try to humiliate *takes a deep, calming breath* I can do this. It's only 4 hours a week. I can do this. If I can just come away from half the lessons not wanting to cry, I'll consider it a success for now.

Whew! *puts drama to one side*

On the bright side, I came home from one of their classes desperate and sat listening to a guided meditation. Towards the end, a story I've been trying to write for more than a year came into my head in all it's entirety. I now know the characters, the plot, the end... everything! Wonderful! See? There is good in negative situations after all!

It's hot again today. This heat is bearable though. It's up to 30ºC, but it doesn't feel like it. I love dry heat. On the downside, the pollution is extreme. Apparently, yesterday, the pollution was such that the effects on the lungs were such that every breath was like smoking a cigarette, which instantly made São Paulo a city of 20 million smokers. Walking is tiring. As you walk, your lungs burn. We all have sore throats, coughs and burning noses. We need rain. Apparently they're getting nice rain to the south. This week should see some relief.

Looking over the rooftops, I spotted a new satellite dish going up in the favela (slum). Brazil doesn't have building standards, so every neighbourhood has its share of favelas. The favelas and their satellite dishes have always been a subject of fascination for me. This is one huge satellite dish! Thank goodness for a zoom lens.


Just being put up



I'm going to beg forgiveness in advance. I have a few blogs written up for the week that need to be typed in. If you're bored, happy reading, but I won't be offended if you leave them out of your weekend reading : )

14 comments:

  1. I don't think I'm wrong when I say kids behaviors have deteriorated. Even in my lifespan! I can say "50 years ago we didn't do that" and I was there. I know!! I don't know the answer. I know MY kids behaved in school. "Or else". But then they behaved at home too. When I was in school...one just didn't misbehave. There were serious consequences!! Kids were paddled, stood in the corner, sent to the principals' where they might be paddled...expelled, parents brought in and lectured...it was a rare kid who was bad in school. No matter what they were like at home---ya know? So what happened?

    I'm pretty far behind too. I cleaned up outside today, and then inside a little. Not what I'd hoped to accomplish before my sister shows up.

    Cats make me laugh. I'm lucky because my cats come when called. They were raised with dogs, so I suppose they learned that. I don't know. Occasionally, Bela will disappear and I know he's out there watching me, so I don't really freak out anymore. And I also know about how long it will be before he decides to listen and answer me, too. He always does. Sometimes he shows up with sleepy eyes and a little put out with all the bellowing, but he shows up. The others come meowing when they hear their name which makes people laugh and ask me if I'm sure they're cats.

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  2. The kitteh wanted to make you insane. *nods It sensed your sanity level was nearing critical mass and knew that one unexpected action would send you over the edge.

    Remember, you're not behind... just jump in where you are and start from there. it's like rebooting your puter!

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  3. Jaime, thanks! I needed that reminder! Specs regularly tests my sanity. It's a game with her.

    Kat, I don't know the answer to the kids. I have taught a fair number of teens here, but this little group (only three of them, for crying out loud) are by far the worst I have yet to encounter. It doesn't make it easier when you know the parents pride themselves on being 'civilized'. Specs comes when she's called. All my cats have been good with coming. I didn't call her last night because it was late and I didn't want to wake Jurgis up.

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  4. My youngest sister who taught in really rough schools used to make the most difficult child the class head monitor who then delighted into turning into the most officious and excellent of controllers of the others. Don't know if you could think of a variation on that?

    The top pic made me laugh out loud! Cats!

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  5. I suspect Specs is channeling Tat's terrible behaviour ;)
    In my experience, children who are well off push the boundries far more than those who are not. I remember once at the high school the kids were playing music during Art that had pretty bad language. They turned it up and kept looking at me to see what I would say (they were about 15). When the song finished they asked what I thought of it and said, "Well I used to listen to that when I was your age too." They were really peeved. Ha! Hang in there. Don't let them break you, they're not worth it!!

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  6. Sorry bout the brats, Tint. They're everywhere. Heaven forbid, but my daughter was challenging her friends mom the other day...I was really upset! I told her that her friend was off limits until she learned to respect her mom. I got an earful but stuck to my guns!

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  7. PS didn't you know of the importance of satellite tv? I apparently didn't, ha ha.

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  8. Lois, that is a great idea to keep in mind for larger classes. This is a class of two... two brothers who egg each other on. I'll keep it in mind and see what I can do along those lines.

    Katey LOL I'll make sure Tat knows. I blame her anyway =Þ The trouble with referring to my own teen years is that I'd rather have died than behave like them. I can't see you doing it either.

    Kat, like you, I had zero tolerance of rudeness. Even now, if Tat wants to criticize or differ with an older person, she'd prefix it with, "With respect, I think your taste in socks is ghastly" or something to that effect. TV... pft!

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  9. Tint, is there any way you could just DITCH those ghasty teens? And let their parents know why? Money is not worth your sanity!

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  10. Ien, I'll give them a little longer. If this keeps up, I think a parent/teacher conference is in order. What I wrote here isn't even the half of it.

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  11. there's a really nice and funny read about cats by Terry Pratchett 'The Unadulterated Cat'. You should spare a few moments to read it sometime. Makes one see their own pets in quite a new light in a good way ;)

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  12. Based on Elfoflamia's post, I had to take a peek:

    Review
    'An extremely funny little tome, purrfect (sorry) for anyone who lives at the mercy of Felis Catus' VENUE
    Product Description
    The Unadulterated Cat is becoming an endangered species as more and more of us settle for those boring mass-produced cats the ad-men sell us - the pussies that purr into their gold-plated food bowls on the telly. But the Campaign for Real Cats sets out to change all that by helping us to recognise a true, unadulterated cat when we see one. For example: real cats have ears that look like they've been trimmed with pinking shears; real cats never wear flea collars ...or appear on Christmas cards ...or chase anything with a bell in it; real cats do eat quiche. And giblets. And butter. And anything else left on the table, if they think they can get away with it. Real cats can hear a fridge door opening two rooms away ...

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  13. I'd love to read that book, Asta! I'm going to look out for it.

    Thanks for finding the review, Kat... saved me the trouble : ) That 'real cat' sounds soooo much like my Maluco!

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  14. *laughing* at Specs' "disappearing act" - dang cat! How awesome that the meditation has helped you finish your story! That's amazing. And you know what I think/feel about those teenage students. Grrr.

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Tint~