Well, I have to say that, after two weeks without so much as a drag on a smoke, I feel completely brain-dead. Seriously. I go online and end up staring at this blog for hours wondering what to write (YouTube and link-trolling just aren't cutting it any more). It doesn't help much that I have to spend several hours a week in a class with equally brain-dead Japanese university students; nor that I'm expected to keep up with the latest brain-dead TEFL theories written by brain-dead foreigners like me whose students, at the end of the day, suck just as much at English as mine do. (The difference being, I suppose, that I'm quite willing to admit that my students are shit and don't see any point wasting time and paper on 'make-work' projects defending their shittiness and their complete apathy toward English specifically and anything remotely interesting generally. I swear Nietzsche must have been thinking about the Japanese when pondering "the last Man".)Anyway, to celebrate my new smoke-free life my lovely wife thought it might be fun for me to take my daughter to one of those "vintage" photo studios and have our portrait done. The picture you're looking at is the result of our little foray. I think I may have gained a bit of weight since I quit smoking. What do you think?
Tags: quitting smoking : teaching english : Japan : bad combinations
Aah, it's just the angle. I look more like your "after picture" even though i'm still enjoying That Rich Mellow Flavor.
ReplyDeleteAre you keeping up your caffeine intake? Now that you're doing without nicotine, you may need to step up on the caffeine to make life (especially work) bearable.
ReplyDeleteI find near constant swilling of caffeinated bevarages is a welcome distraction from the tedium of daily life, and the insomnia it produces well give you extra time to think about future blogs.
Which one's which in the picture?
ReplyDeleteI suggest cheering yourself up by dealing out complicated and arcane insults to your students that because of their limited english they can't possibly understand. Delivery them with a smile and they'll think you're saying something good. Then video it and put it up on YouTube! Laff riot!
ReplyDeleteJohn: I'll try not to become a boorish "reformed smoker".
ReplyDeleteemarie: I drink several cups of coffee every day. If I'm brain-dead now, quitting coffee would be pulling the plug...
Shit: My daughter's the cute one...
Mr. Angry: English in Japan, and 'education' here more generally, is an ongoing tragi-comedy that I feel would be too shocking and unsettling for most YouTube viewers. Besides, I'm not that mean... ;-)