you make me smile

and apparently, i make you smile too!

i've been meaning to acknowledge this award since forever, but i keep on forgetting to.

1. Accept this award with a smile and link to the person who sent it to you.
2. Pass this on to five blogs that make you smile.
3. Contact the person to tell them that they have received this award.

thank you Jodie, Ashley, Martin, iZaynab and Bianca! :D ♥

this award really means a lot to me. i am so glad that i can make people smile. it's such a great feeling ♥

they wrote such sweet stuff about me and my blog! imagine that. i just have to share it with the rest of you:

Jodie

:D Her blog is SO AWESOME. She's so cuute! Lol! And she posts pictures often which I LOVE. She always posts about amusing stuff, so yeah. I smile and laugh most of the time. This girl's got a blog worth reading!

Ashley

For those of you who don't KNOW, this girl is bomb-diggity. Or whatever it is that you youngins say these days. I'm too old to keep up with all your hip lingo. Yes, I'm intentionally talking like an old not-cool woman. Anyway, Furree is awesome. Some of her posts make me laugh until I cry. She's super sweet, super pretty andd.. generally super. SUPERB. Superbly super? I'll shut up. Go love her now. 

Martin

Furree became the first actual follower on my blog and I have no idea how she came across it, but her blog is crazy good. I'm usually looking for blogs that follow some sort of topic or gimmick, and not usually blogs where people just talk about their daily lives... unless the blogger in question happens to have a flashy and captivating voice and writing style. Such is the case with Ms. Furree here.
Sometimes I remember that she's only 17 and she seems so grown up, but then I think about one of my little sisters and how she's 16 and still seems like such a little baby to me. Not in a bad way or anything, but it still amuses me greatly.

Bianca 

okay, this chica was one of the first i followed. Why? because she's awesome. just plain awesome. her blog posts are long, so it's a great way for me to postpone my homework because it is one of those things that i REALLY despise. Even though her posts are long, she keeps my interest, which is saying a lot, because i'm pretty sure i have A.D.D. or something like that... :D

iZaynab

Why ~? She rocks. iJust love her & her life.
iMean her blog is adorable & she presents her information with the best pictures ~
iMean I'm picky with my blog as in other people's templates if the background is dark.
But damn, it got me to forget & stop doing that.
She owns ~ ! ! !

x

(did i forget anyone? please let me know :O)  

now, i know i'm supposed to award this to 5 blogs, but over the past couple of weeks one particular blog has had me in fits of laughter. i cannot stop smiling whenever i read it, each post is funnier than the one before and this blog is definitely one of my favourites. :D

that blog is... *drumroll*

TEENAGE MUTINY.  *happy dance*

if you aren't aware of this blog's existence, go and check it out now! it is owned and maintained and written in by Hamza Bin Ladin, who is the master of difficult vocabulary and intelligent thoughts which he is able to convey to his readers in a super funny way. yeah. i no joke.

(this is also to annoy Hamza because i don't think he likes to be awarded much, haha. let's force him to acknowledge this and carry on the awarding chain!)

x

i'm also going to take this opportunity to acknowledge all the other awards that have been... awarded (yeah lol) to me:

thank you, Hamza! ♥
This one goes exclusively for Furree Katt.Trust me this young lady is ALL over the place.You would find her comment on any blog you visit before you.She doesn't seem a person but a team,as she's able to comment and follow 99399487 blogs!! that makes to cry out "Meooooow"..! 

he also called me an 'astute blogger' on which he has elaborated:

 

Furree Katt, who blogs on the blog with the same name.This young lady teenage teacher, is all over the place. And she was the hardest one to chose an alias for, as she seems to fit everywhere! Go and say hullo to her.

thank you, Nas! ♥
Furree Katt is cool personified. Her blog is a place where you can laugh and have a generally good time. Her writing is always refreshing and fun to read, and the writer herself is a very nice person.
 

thank you, Arisa! ♥

Go on her blog and read 'The Creep'......you'll know why she is deserving of the award ;)

 

thank you, Aeesha! ♥
I have recently fallen in love with this girl. Her blog is so full of colors and and I don't know how many times I have said this to her and so many others. Lol. I wouldn't pick one particular post out of her blog, because it's all in all so cheery! =) Do skim through.

x

AWWWHHH i feel so loved. ♥ i'm going to treasure what everyone said about me forever. it really does mean a lot to me. ever since i started blogging again, i've gotten to know such amazing people and gained truly awesome friends, which i shall forever be grateful for. yayyy ♥

and because i feel like it, here is my widest i-am-a-creepy-clown-that-will-murder-you-tonight smile:

~~~ seriously. ~~~

The Ordeal

if i had to pick the most awkward day of my life, i would choose Thursday, 12th May, 2011. (yes, this is the 'Thursday' post that won in the voting, a round of applause please).

being a seventeen year old girl, awkwardness is something i experience a whole lot. working with ladies who are either middle-aged or senior citizen-y automatically increases the level of awkwardness i have to face regularly.

(i just noticed i mention my age too much haha. i keep on forgetting that all of you already know how old i am. i love sticking it in everyone's faces though, so bear with me.)

on Thursday the 12th, our school held a dinner at a fancy restaurant.

the guests? all the teachers from the school.

now, i shy away from socializing, and this was a major social event. the only reason i attended was that a special invitation was sent for me from the Grade 3 coordinator (she has a massive liking for me O.O), and i was curious to see how all my colleagues are outside our workplace.

i discovered something that i wish i never (for lack of better words) ... discovered. 

THEY'RE DIFFERENT OUTSIDE SCHOOL.

in school, everyone treats me really well. some even show motherly affection towards me. but on the night of the dinner, they:

- ignored me

being the polite little girl that i am, i greeted everyone when i reached the table where everybody was seated. most of the teachers returned my greeting, with a smile and/or a 'hello', but some of them just turned their faces away.

when i sat down amongst the teachers i am most comfortable around in school, they didn't even talk with me. i tried my best to join in a couple of conversations only to be ignored and/or dismissed with a wave of a talon-ed hand.

- poked fun at my attire

now, having lived abroad for quite some time, i am not entirely partial to the national dress of Pakistan which is called Shalwar-Kameez. i mean, i do like it, but i prefer not to wear it. yknow? i've never been to work wearing Shalwar-Kameez, so none of my colleagues had ever seen me in that attire. but for the dinner, i HAD to wear the top part (Kameez). this is what i looked like:

pardon the blurriness. and YES THOSE ARE HEELS OMG

a teacher sized me up and said, "well, what is this now? you'll never part with your jeans, will you?"

me: I PARTED WITH ALL THE PRETTY TEES I OWN, DIDN'T I?!

- gave me the 'what is she doing here?!' look

yeah. apparently some people thought that an assistant is not of the same caliber as a teacher (which is partially true).

x

but with all the awkwardness aside, i did manage to have an okay-this-is-not-so-bad time. the food was delicious and i did not hold back in taking a second helping (yeah i NEVER did that before!). everyone loosened up after eating and i managed to hold proper conversations with quite a few of the other teachers present. i latched on to an adorable teacher who is only a few years older to me, and spoke with her in squealy-girly tones throughout the entire evening. here's a picture of me with two of my favourite colleagues:

left to right: myself, the Grade 3 coordinator, the adorable teacher.
(LOLOLOL i look massive! and i'm much shorter in reality. heels can work wonders O.O)

awww. imma miss them SO much.
♥

i just hope that you miss me a little when i'm gone

the last day of school for my students was Friday. it's their summer vacation now.

i thought i would be relieved and ecstatic, but to be completely honest, i'm really, really sad.

since last year, all i had been harboring were frustrations over the fact that my education had to be put to a standstill due to financial problems, and i had to work to support my family instead of study like a normal teenager.

the only thing that took my mind off the situation i was(/still am) in, were these:

my students.

work has been a blessing in many ways. apart from providing a steady income, it has helped me grow as a person. i have become more understanding of the way the minds of little children work. i have matured, given and gained knowledge, and have received tons of love from loads of kids.

even though i'll be seeing them next term, these two months are going to be difficult. it's only been a few days and i'm already missing their voices asking innocent little questions, their adorable little faces and their naughtiness.

on the last day of school, all the teachers around me were getting gifts from the parents of the students they taught this year. every teacher's desk had piles and piles of presents and bouquets of flowers. when all the gift-giving was happening, i got absolutely nothing. nil. zero. i don't really blame the parents, because after all, who would give a mere assistant anything? i'm pretty sure they didn't think i made any significant impact in the lives of their children. this upset me for half the day, which is why i didn't take any pictures of the class party and whatnot. 

i may sound selfish, but being under-appreciated for all the work i did this year is totally not cool. but i admit, the ego-inflated part of me wanted everyone to think like this:

however, at the end of the school day, when the parents came to pick their kids up, one mum got me this massive bouquet of pretty white flowers and thanked me for giving her daughter 'a wonderful year'. another mum gave me a hug and said that her kids adore me, and that she sincerely hopes to see me around next year. a kid from Grade 1 made a card for me, which is really sweet because i'm a Kindergarten teacher.

when it was time for everyone to say their goodbyes and leave, i started crying. LOL I COULDN'T HELP IT, OKAY. my coordinator said that they're just kids and "GET OVER IT FURREE, YOU'LL SEE THEM IN 60 DAYS". she didn't realize how these kids have helped me get through all the problems that i was facing last year (and this year, too). they were a major distraction, and they made me happy. 

x

these summer holidays shall be spent studying. i need to study as hard as i can to make up for whatever i have missed this past year. pray/hope that everything becomes okay for me, you guys. i really need all your prayers.

♥

p.s. for those of you who read the title and went like, "ooh, Drake!", I SHALL NOT DISAPPOINT.

Today

SUPER TIRED AND THIS IS ALL I CAN RECALL:

teacher: *humming* you know what it is, i love you so much...
me: *joining in* you know what it is, black and yellow black and yellow black and yellow black and yellow!!!!!!!!!!
teacher: ...

I SWEAR I THOUGHT SHE WAS SINGING BLACK AND YELLOW. -.-

Death by Pool Party

i'm not kidding. it's possible.

i feel overworked, exhausted, super tired and on my way to zombie-ness. the reason:

being attacked by supervising crazily hyper kids in three inflatable pools over a course of three days.

three pool parties. three pools for each party. three days. around 80 kids in total.

today was the last day of this madness, and i could collapse any moment, but i need to tell you guys what happened.

this is me, today. look at the fatigue on my face. you can practically hear the whimper i'm emitting, asking to be freed from my duties as Poolside Servant (actually i was in the middle of saying something completely different, but yeah)

let me start from the beginning.

once fine day sometime last week, my coordinator approached me.

coordinator: we gonna have a pool party, dawg.
me: huh? why?

apparently, towards the end of every school year, all the kindergartners have a pool party. since there are three sections of KG, each section gets its own day of the week to splash around in multiple inflatable pools. due to the sad fact that i'm an assistant for all three sections, i had to be present at each pool party, controlling all the kids who decided to unveil their crazy selves in the water.

at first i didn't think it would be that bad. the kids were calm in the beginning, which was when they were in their classrooms changing into their swimsuits with their towels wrapped around them.

on their way to the pools (click to enlarge, they are really cute)

but as soon as they reached the playground and laid their eyes on the inflatable pools filled to the brim with water in all their glory, the kids started screaming and shouting and running in haste to get to the pools first.

and then they jumped in. and then water splashed everywhere.

now, i'm okay with splashing. it doesn't really bother me that some of the heavy children emptied half of the pools solely by jumping into them and causing all the water to spill out. but i hadn't forseen that the harmless upward movement of water would actually be quite harmful.

TO MY CLOTHES.

yuh. i had actually dressed up nicely on the day of the first pool party, because it had slipped my mind that little kids splashing in water = wet clothes for everyone within a twenty million feet radius.

i was more careful on the second day, and managed to take a picture of the girls being uber cute:

this was before they started acting like banshees, though.

the third day (which happens to be TODAY) was totally traumatizing. having dealt with two other sections in the past two days, i thought this would be a piece of cake. but no. these kids were different. they were dangerous.

("why?", you ask, thoroughly confused and slightly intrigued.)

THEY HAD WATER GUNS, THAT'S WHY.

and their target was ME.

all the kids were in the pools. they were laughing and splashing around and stuff, but their attention was limited to themselves, their fellow students, and the water. suddenly, out of nowhere, there were a trillion squish/whoosh/ppshhhh sounds from all possible directions and i found myself drenched head to toe with water. it took all my willpower not to yell out something inappropriate like "YOU BLOODY KIDS!". i took it with a smile, and warned them not to do it again.

almost instantly i found myself squealing like a piggy, because the attack had started again. but this time, it was my coordinator. DO YOU KNOW HOW MESSED UP THAT IS?! she had a hose and she was aiming at me. 'twas pretty scary.

but then, amidst all the chaos and laughter and water, i started enjoying the entire thing. i borrowed a water gun and started shooting at the kids, and we had a battle of sorts. one of the other teachers climbed into the pool and started splashing around with everyone. that was fun, too. the whole thing lasted around two hours.

after that, i had to help some of the kids change out of their swimsuits and into their uniforms. do you know what that means? i saw naked children today. and yesterday. and the day before yesterday. i saw eighty naked kids in the space of three days. but it was pretty much okay, because they're practically like my own kids. except i don't have any O.O

when that was done with, everyone went back to the regular school routine. i was glad, because this meant that i would be free for the rest of the day since i didn't have any class. but then, to my horror, the Grade 1 coordinator approached me and requested me to fill in for one of the teachers who was absent. she said it would only be for half an hour. i agreed, and proceeded to the classroom where i was needed.

first graders are easy to handle once you've got their attention. most of them know me already, so it was no problem keeping them occupied for the half-hour in which i was present in their classroom. but then, when it was time to leave, the Grade 1 coordinator asked me to stay for a little while longer, till their next class started. i complied, only on the basis that i didn't really have any other option when it came to a coordinator asking me to do something. :O

i stayed for another half-hour. i played hangman and read out at least 342784 stories to them. my voice was hoarse by the end of it.

when that got over, i started feeling woozy and veryyyyy sleepy. i kept roaming around the hallways like a vagabond. and then, finally, it was home time.

i didn't sleep in the afternoon like i usually do. guess this means i will sleep early tonight. yay, me!

tomorrow is the last day of school for all the students. i still have to go on Monday and Tuesday next week, though. IMPORTANT-TEACHER-WORK. O.O 

x

votes are in from my last post, i shall be posting about last Thursday pretty soon, then. :D i tried to make this post long to make up for the gap in between, i feel really weird not posting every second day.

loads of love to you allll. ♥

-.-

Blogger, why must you be so mean to me? 

i have no idea how all of the comments on my previous post got deleted. but don't worry, i read all of them. they're all saved on my email. YOU GUYS WERE AWESOME KIDS.

i've kept that post as a draft to publish later (maybe after a month or so, haha) and i shall add new stuff to it so that it'll be worthy to comment on again. you guys will do that, right? comments are what keep me going. (delerium, i shall send you your comment again so that you can post it as it was, 'twas quite a lengthy and super-awesome one)

quick update, i've started working on everyone's testimonials. on paper :D so that i can write whatever comes to my mind at 3 in the morning without having to switch on my ancient computer. and it makes it more personal, somehow. i'll type it out when i'm done with all of them.

i have loads of stuff to tell you guys, too!
but i am confused as to what i should post about first. LETS HAF A VOTE.

- A (very special) song that brings back memories
- This past Thursday (it was quite an ordeal)
- My old cat and the one i have now 
- Totally emo post about my problems in life


VOTEEEEEEEE! (in the comments, because i am too lazy to make an actual poll)

okay, bye now.


p.s. :( sorry about not replying to your emails. i am in no state of mind to do so at the moment. i'll try my bestest to get to that later today or tomorrow.

my blog is awesome because...

... it's carbon neutral!

THAT'S RIGHT.

today, i noticed that some of my favourite bloggers were posting about the same thing: an initiative called 'My Blog Is Carbon Neutral'. (link)

they plant a tree for each domain/blog that has this button. which neutralizes the carbon footprint emitted by the domain, for fifty years. FIFTY! that's really cool.

so, i've added a button on my left sidebar (i like the small one, 'tis cute), and i encourage all of you to participate in this initiative, too. click on the link given above.

a random green picture which i like and deem fitting.

awesome bloggers who've taken part in this:

Fiona

Jodie-Ann

Kuroneko

iZaynab
ishashime
 

x 

we really do need trees. the school which i work in barely has one or two. the kids play around poles instead. here's one of my favourite students who certainly does deserve to play around trees:

do it for her.

i promise to always give you me, the real me.

Who

Would have thought
I’d be caught

In this life?
Let’s celebrate

With a toast
And get lost

In tonight
And make it all light up

♥

Wait until the sun goes down

We gon’ make this place light up

Even when the sun goes down

I'm gon’ make this go ♥ 

^ so i took out the cussing. i am feeling very weird tonight.

and OOOHHHHH. look at the similarity between this picture and the one on the left sidebar! that is freaky. my nose is more prominent in this one, though. BUT STILL.

i've been sick since the past couple of days. not fair. i don't like being sick. 'get well soon' wishes needed.

only two weeks of work left! SUMMER VACATIONS ARE SO NEAR. i'm too unwell to be excited, though. but when i get better i'll be jumping up and down. with excitement, of course.

i want to change my blog banner. i am tired of it now. i need a good picture for it, though. O.O WHERE DO I GET THAT FROM?!

the video for Judas is good. i saw the first 20 seconds of it when it was leaked before its release, but then the video kept getting stuck and then i found out that it was taken down. THEN IT GOT POSTED ON MY WALL RIGHT AFTER THE RELEASE :D who else has seen it? i love Lady Gaga's makeup! and her outfits, too. the model portraying Jesus was pretty cute. 
and i saw the Super Bass video, as well. Nicki Minaj looked pretty, but i didn't like it that much. it wasn't special. but it sure was colourful. 

would you all like to ask me a question? ASK ME ANYTHING YOU WANT (in the comments). i'll definitely answer you. i'm too lazy to make and maintain a Formspring. this is like, a one-off. that's the term, right?

i may ask you something, too. we can have a conversation.

x

Philophobic, i adore you.

Jodie-Ann, yay, you're back! i missed you!
Lioness Without A Pride, it's coming soon. promise.
Asif, i need to tell you something. i will email you very soon.

and you. i love you. 

The Staffroom Grapevine - Part 2

there is always someone in our lives whom everybody can live without. an aunt, a classmate, a neighbor, a celebrity figure.

for me, that person is *drumroll*

The Bully.

she terrorizes the staffroom like no other. she prowls around the corridors and preys on unsuspecting innocent creatures (like ME) and does what she does best:

BULLIES.

now, you must be thinking, "a teacher being a bully? what is that all about?"

(okay, maybe you're not thinking that. but whatever. you should, so that the following sentence is of use to you:)

YES. The Bully is the only teacher in the school whom i would gladly like to see resign and perhaps join the navy and be shipped off to Antarctica to live with penguins.

The Bully is tall, fair, blonde(ish) and 50-something years old. when she enters the Staffroom, all the teachers that happen to be present there avert her gaze, hoping and praying that she doesn't strike up a conversation with them. because unlike normal chit-chat and banter, this is what The Bully talks about:

"my daughter and her husband are having a grand time vacationing in Italy! where have YOUR children been for their holidays?"

"my grandchildren say the funniest things. they love how active i am with them! all my other friends praise me for how fit i look. what diet are you on? are you even on a diet?"

"i'm renovating my house in London. you hear that? LONDON. do you know how expensive it is? oh, maybe you don't. what kind of properties do you own?"

"your earrings are lovely! i had a similar pair a couple of years ago when they were in style. i sold them off a while back at a cheap price, because that's what they are now, don't you agree? how much gold have you bought this year?"

apart from all of her showing-off and nosiness, you know what is really perturbing?

the fact that she has got her eyes on ME.

why me?

because i'm her favourite victim.

why am i her favourite victim?

(okay, i need to stop asking so many questions)

because I'M THE YOUNGEST. all my life i've been taught to treat all adults with respect, which has gotten me into loads of tricky situations recently. being a teacher's assistant, i am obligated to help my fellow faculty members in whichever way i can, ONLY if it concerns actual work related to the syllabus.

The Bully takes advantage of my position and asks me to do stuff totally unrelated to what i am employed for.

example 1:

The Bully: come here!

me: yes?

The Bully: get me a glass of water!

example 2:

The Bully: come here!

me: yes?

The Bully: carry my bag for me!

(i-wish-this-were-an) example 3:

The Bully: come here!

me: *runs away screaming*

i am not a personal assistant. my job is teaching children specific parts of their syllabus, NOT carrying other teachers' stuff around like a peon. i know, i should stand up for myself and learn to say 'no', but that 'no' could get me fired. The Bully has been around for 9 years, and since this is only my first year, i have almost no right to point out how unfair she is most of the time. plus, she's an adult. and old adult. i am nothing but a duckling in front of her dinosaur-ness, which in The Bully's eyes translates into me being too inexperienced to even open my mouth.

maybe one day, when i'm a proper lady and The Bully announces her retirement, i shall tell her how mean she has been to me, and how i have silently burdened myself with all the things she has asked me to do for her. she'll probably have this reply ready for me:

"well, at least i'm rich."

yeah and then i'll only have your support to help me get over it, haha.

x

click here to read The Staffroom Grapevine - Part 1