Work vs Tuition

This is my only off day with no tuition whatsoever. It is the only off day which I can have some me-time. My favourite tuitee has just finished his exams so I’m giving him and myself a 2 weeks break. My sweet cousin tuitee is basking in the Australia sun now. My playmate tuitee’s mum is fine with me taking an off.

Yay.. I finally got time to go for my facial appointment liao. I signed up a package at Bioskin last year and got a major lecture from my mum, went for the very first time in May 2005 and never did go for the second time. I find it a waste of time to simply lie there and not do anything for 2 hours while I could have shopped, marked my worksheets, blogged, read for that 2 hours. However, I must learn to relax and not think about the amount of time wasted. Looking at the state of my face, I also think I seriously need the facial!

From this week onwards, my off days are changed to Wednesday and Sunday. No more consecutive off days. Boo Hoo! I’ve gotten so used to working weekends and having offs on weekdays. However, my superior says a Sunday is very valuable and I will soon realise the importance of it.

Right now, I’m wondering how to arrange my tuition schedule around this new work schedule. I told all my tuitees’ mums about the change in off days and how difficult it is to arrange their sessions but none of them was willing to let me go. A part of me also can’t bear to let them go coz I really enjoy giving tuition.

I like my cute C. He is so cute! I’ve been teaching him since he was in Pri 2. He is going to be Pri 5 next year but he still looks as cute as he was the first time I saw him. He is not only physically cute, he always does cute things. He loves to tell me boh liao stuff. He loves to tell me cold jokes. He loves to ask me lame riddles. He loves to spin yarns and tell tall stories which are so obviously untrue. Nevertheless, no matter how boh liao his stuff are, how cold his jokes are, how lame his riddles are and how fake his stories are, they never fail to crack me up.

He is very cheeky and mischievous and often makes me angry with his carelessness, loss of marks, undone homework and gasak gasak attitude in studies. But he always brightens up my day with all his cute antics. His family members treat me very well too. His little sister and cousin love to go into the room and “disturb” me. When his grandma know that I have not eaten, she would bring in bowls of soup, snacks, biscuits and even offer to cook instant noodles for me. His mummy once offered to share her zi char bee hoon with me. His mummy does sales on fashion merchandise and she would hand me an Abercrombie or Hollister every now and then as she knows I like those brands.

One week plus and I’m already missing that cute boy manz.

I enjoy teaching my cousin too. Nope, not that hellish and psycho cousin brother who once used a knife on me and I still tahan him for 3 years but another cousin sister. I’ve been teaching her English and Maths since she was in Pri 5.

I love going to my aunt’s condo. Tucked along Bukit Timah Road, I love the nature theme of their condo. Whenever I set foot in there, I feel very relaxed. Lush greenery, swishing waterfalls, rocks surrounding the edge of the pool… It is like a tropical paradise. I always tell myself that one day, I would just go and bask myself by the poolside and use the sauna facilities. I’ve been telling myself for 2 years but I still have not done it.

I love to eat at my aunt’s place too. She loves to stuff me with lotsa delicious home-cooked food and she always serves dinner with impeccable style. If she has prawns, she would arrange the prawns facing one direction along the side of the bowl. If she has pieces of meat, she fans them out. She knows how to arrange the various dishes on the rice bowl such that I would not have difficult eating while teaching my cousin at the same time.

My aunt is also that kind of mummy who would cut different kinds of fruits after dinner. She cuts all the fruits up into bite sized pieces and not wedges which makes munching and talking much easier.

My cousin is a joy to teach. She was very quiet and not at all like all my talkative students, but she has slowly warmed up to me. She is that kind of tuitee who does all her school homework and tuition homework religiously and scores many As. I’ve lacked the confidence to teach Maths at secondary level (check out all my F9s) but when my aunt insists on me continuing to teach her when she promoted to Sec 1, I read the textbook and practiced my Maths really well. Maths became her best subject.

For Teachers’ Day, she gave me a pink Guess watch. I didn’t open the gift in front of her but you can be sure the very next session, I went to scold her for giving such an expensive gift.

She will be Sec 2 next year. I really don’t have the confidence to continue teaching her Maths and told my aunt about it. I told her my Maths at sec level is very lousy and that for the past 1 year, I’ve been reading up her text before I teach her. My aunt said, “Read the textbook and refresh your memory. Should be no problem. She got A for your Maths.” Me thinks she got A coz she is good, not because I am good.

See how it goes…

I also enjoy teaching my “playmate”, C. Why playmate and not tuitee? Coz she’s only 3 years old this year. She is a student in my ex co but not my student. Basically, I flash cards to her, read with her, do writing and drawing and play educational games. Sounds fun eh? But it’s not relaxed. The younger the kid, the more energy I need. It was supposed to be a temporary try out thingy till I got a job at that time. However, instead of stopping, her mummy says I can come as and when I’m free.

Both my playmate and her brother would scream and jump for joy, each rushing to open the door for me whenever I ring the bell. Their grandma would beam and say in Mandarin, “See, once you come, the whole house is filled with joy.”

There was once it was raining but had since stopped by the time I reached C’s place. When she saw me, she screamed, “Jiejie Jolene are you ok? It is raining. It is raining so heavily. I scared you don’t have umbrella.” Later, her grandma told me that for the whole afternoon before I arrived, C has been asking if I had brought my umbrella and whether I’m “ok”.

On another occasion when I didn’t appear for 2 weeks, C hugged me very tightly and said “Jiejie Jolene I love you!” I was so touched. I was already planning to break the news that I was unable to continue anymore.

I really missed all the little “I love yous”. In my previous job, I would hear them almost everyday and not get tired of hearing. Now the only little kid who utters that is C.

At least thrice, I brought it up to her mummy that I feel bad not being able to commit twice or even once a week constantly and she maintained that it is not an issue. Her grandma then said that their door is always opened for me and that I’m welcome back anytime.

I hope I’ll be able to work out how to arrange my schedule soon.