The World of Tai Tai

Happy New Year, Tai Tai,  A year of joy and tears has just gone by, and now there is a host of new challenges awaiting you. You should be confident in welcoming the new year, don't you think so? But some ashes of the past still cling onto your feathers, not letting you fully rejoice in the newly dawning day. Very soon word may get around about your ugly past at your new station. How would you cope with this horror? Does that really matter to you?  Remember you told yourself that you would start everything afresh.  So nothing should pose fear to you.  Be the master of your own mind and decisions.  Believe in your conscience.  Bygones are bygones, they play no part in your future. But stress still silently creeps in.  You can hardly sleep at night.  You often wake up with a start in the dead of night, cold sweat breaking all over your body. Why are you letting the past get the best of you? Somehow you know you should stand u...

On registration day, due to time constraint, I arrived at school around seven on an empty stomach and was immediately overwhelmed by the rapidly multiplying crowds of parents. I gave in to nerves and despite having been briefed on what to do the day before, I did not know what to say to the parents.  A colleague passed by the classroom and I jumped at the opportunity to ask him questions. He cleared my doubts patiently and my hands stopped shaking. I uttered an inaudible pr ayer and the collection of fees began. I counted the money and issued the receipts carefully, trying my best not to create any mistake. But still, once in a while, I forgot to ask one or two parents to sign their attendance. At one stage, I overcharged a parent and the mistake could only be fixed by the time school reopened.  Halfway through the session, my vision blurred and my stomach protested. I tried to rally all my faculties but the prodding hunger kept wavering my concentration. I was desper...

                                   A new chapter of my life had finally begun! I failed to shake off the first day' jitters and forgot to clock in by having my fingerprint scanned. The number of teachers at my new station blew me away, twice as many as that at my former school.  Despite the butterflies in my stomach, I was able to stay awake throughout the meeting. The different way the meeting was conducted, plus the cordial atmosphere made me feel welcomed. From time to time I kept reminding myself that bygones were bygones, and that I should not let my past blunders get in the way of success again.  A few minutes into the first hour of the meeting, nature called and I went to the toilet. On my way back, due to my being unused to the surroundings, I had not the foggiest idea where the conference room was, and found myself ending up in strange, dead-end corners. Soon a lady ...

Farewell Lunch with other outgoing colleagues Realizing that I had gradually been losing my footing at St. Joseph's, I determined myself to apply for a transfer last September. Over the next two months, my life at school was a disaster. Due to increasing reports that I had not been doing my core business well, I was constantly chastised mercilessly by the principal.  To add salt to the wound, my personal documentation was a mess and the principal always made me stay back after school to get things arranged properly. Sometimes, he did not allow me to enter my lessons unless everything met his requirements. Many a time, I dreaded coming to school.  It was beyond me why I had time and again fallen victim to rumors - he teach broken English( sic ), he read novel in class( sic ).  Of course, I did my teaching dutifully, but certain quarters thought otherwise, and found great joy in casting aspersions on my ability. From time to time I had a burning urge to call their...