Basket.

Anyone ever notice the instinctual family portrait arrangement people at gatherings usually end up in?

Have not had the energy to post for over a week, which began with the chaotic doling back of exam scripts. I had plenty of choice things to say when the results came in, most of them unrepeatable in a standard classroom environment, but I will restrict myself here to saying that the performance overall was... undesirable, barring a few pleasant surprises. I can only hope for improvement with time, painful experience and harder work.

Following which I departed for my first school camp in ages (none in JC), intelligently arranged to be on Pulau Ubin. Like all school camps, it meant plenty of insect bites and little sleep. By the way, I loathe insect repellent and would rather be bitten than use it. Even in NS, when people slathered themselves in the SAF's toxic, corrosive cream, I never used a drop. Paying the price at the moment and I suspect these are sandfly bites. Murdered an Aedes mosquito, which I recognised from the distinctive white stripes, not before it got a proboscis-full of my blood. Have yet to develop feverish symptoms, thankfully. Life is a lottery sometimes.

Otherwise, it was pretty idyllic, although some way or another I became the medic. Fortunately, no severe injuries, which can either mean our students are gloriously lucky or have a modicum of common sense. I honestly can't say I know which is the case. The accommodation was better than I thought it would be, although the food threatened malnutrition. I ended by not being able to keep up with the kids, not helped by shitty coffee - but anyway, for some reason, caffeine has little or no effect on me.

Friday did come, ending exile on Ubin. Back on a bumboat, took back the class I was given, counted the kids, back to school, dismissal for everyone. I went home and all but collapsed. Then back out again for the gathering above, back home only past midnight to collapse again.

Saturday saw a handy 20% discount at Kinokuniya. Seeing my chance, I got Anthony Beevor's Battle for Spain, although the graphic novels section again failed to impress. After which it was off to the third birthday celebration in 4 weekends. Book + present + impressively-priced dinner meant I blew over 70 dollars that day. Just thinking about it makes me remember how I flinched at spending one-tenth that amount back as an impoverished student. But things are fortunately quite different now. Not that I don't bloody earn every single cent I work for.

Speaking of work, next week will be the final week of it, after which June is a break and July is when I begin turning back into a student, a transformation scheduled to be complete by August. After that, I can cease thinking about the future for a good four more years. Can't say I'm unhappy about that.