I haven't posted in so long (due to Chinese internet restrictions, not because I am lazy) that I had to go back and re-read last post so that I could properly update. So the fish are dead, RIP. Um...also (1.) I quit my old job, (2.) got a new job, (3.) got a house rabbit which is still alive and hopping around on the balcony as we speak, (4.) and have been suffering a horrible spell of bad luck which has caused numerous incidences of bodily harm. If China was a person, I would sue it but since I can't actually pin anything that has happened to me recently on living in Shanghai specifically, and because you can't sue a country no matter how much you resent it, I...digress.
(1.)So I quit my old job as a kindergarten English teacher. I can't go into the details of the job too much without wanted to bash my own memories out of my brain with a blunt object, but imagine a room. The room has two windows sealed with prison bars. No heating, in December. White washed walls. A chalkboard. back to back desks. The cheesy smell of unwashed thermals hangs heavy in the air. The innocent sound of a giggling 6 year old is replicated until it escalates into screeches, paper throwing, hair pulling, the manic chaos of a group of starving plane crash survivors marooned on an island, each trying explain why shouldn't be eaten that week. The easy solution is to eat the TEACHER. So they do. I am devoured by a group of 36 children, 40 minutes a class, 6 classes a day, 5 days a week. My leftover flesh is taken home and stir-fried with rice, packed into little Hello Kitty containers, and sent back to do it again, until I am completely destroyed, my soul is dead, and I quit. And I've been unemployed for a long, long time.
(2.)Then, magically and awesomely, I got two jobs at once! The one I accepted was a position as an infant/toddler educator at a lovely international pre-school. No more teaching English, much more doing what I love and what I am good at. Those babies better watch out, because I have some crazy learning lined up that is going to blow their little minds! The position I did not accept was at this beautiful special education school and though I won't be employed there, I have been volunteering there everyday as a teaching assistant in the pre-school classes. In my time there, I have learned so much about the children who attend, their needs, and their unique abilities. They are amazing! There is a little boy who can read and do maths (fractions, long division, multiplying), taught himself to speak English, French and how to read sheet music. He is a brilliant four year old with undiagnosed Aspergers. I have also been introduced the world of early intervention and techniques for managing behaviours. It's really mind blowing that these techniques and philosophies are not used or taught in mainstream schools when they make perfect sense and apply to ALL KIDS!
(3.)So I also got a rabbit. That's new. He is so cute. Cuter than any of your animals. He is kind of like a great combo between a cat and a dog. He greets you at the door when you come home like a dog and begs for treats all cute with his paws in the air like a dog, but is clean, independent, pees in a litterbox and sleeps all stretched out in the sun like a cat. Unfortunately, he poops like a gumball machine which is neither cat nor dog-like at all. It's just a pain in the ass. His name is Bucky. Here is a picture of him being cute, for your enjoyment.
(4.) Bad Luck-o-thon. It all started at the beginning of the year when I got cervical ulcers coupled with a bunch of other gyno-issues which have been ongoing. In Feb, I got food poisoning from my long time friend, tofu and electrocuted my hand on a 72 volt battery. It was all black and crispy. Then, Hello March! This morning I was thrown from the back of Tony's electric bike and sprained my elbow and ass. I don't know if you can sprain your ass, what I do know is that this shit needs to stop so that I can stop living in fear for my next body part to shrivel up and fall off or something *.
Tony says that since I've had all my bad luck at the beginning of 2013, the rest of the year is going to be great. I am trying to be as optimistic, but I am a pessimist by nature, which might be part of the problem. We do have some great things to look forward to. We're going to a ball on the 16th and have a trip to Thailand planned. So I'm going to pretend my bad luck didn't know we're into March now, and it's time for it to go die.
*Also bad luck, Blogger got rid of my favourite font. :(
Happy safe, lucky 2013 to ya'll.
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