Crawling thing, on the floor of my room, are there many more of you? Vilest evil through and through Tell me: why so many arms? Is it to count the charms That I have sought Made and Bought? To keep you from my house Loathéd more than roach or mouse Or snarling rat with plague…
The Englishman had been instructed to bring two pairs of shoes with him to school; one for indoors, one for out. Like most of the things he was instructed to do for work, he had forgotten. This meant that he was forced to borrow a pair of slippers from the school cupboards every day;…
Recently, at a family wedding, I was very distressed to find out that my year and a bit worth of teaching experience has not improved my ability to talk to children. I met a rather cool three year old (he could talk three languages and sing most of Frere Jacques) and, when called upon to…
Invocal More Stephen Sondheim, specifically:  Moments in the Woods from Into the Woods You Could Drive a Person Crazy from Company  More from Dick Tracy Girl you don’t need make-up from Inside Amy Schumer Free cake, even if you’re not singing karaoke Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus Closing Time by Semi-sonic Remix to Ignition by Kelly…
It’s quite nice to be admired and even nicer to be respected- in Japan, as a gaijin-sensei, I certainly receive a lot of admiration. But I sometimes feel a dearth of respect. Once a week, I teach at one of four elementary schools. If you’re good at math, and Lord knows you don’t have…
Hello all, November, November, I scarcely remember. November has always felt like a filler month to me; nowadays it’s little more than an extension of December, everyone just anticipating Christmas now that we’ve got the pesky first five sixths of the year out of the way. Certainly, there’s very little to distinguish it from its…
The Ottawan Hamster is older than most, He lives in the city but was born on the coast; His stalk is as tall as an elephant’s eye The elephant in question being the size of a fly; He’s green as a daisy and round like a brick, If you look at his teeth,…
I am fascinated by the music in my school. Every morning when I head into my JHS, there is an instrumental version of Danny Boy floating ethereally in the air (I have often joked that I can tell how late I am by whether he’s dead or if the pipes are still calling). I…
Last night, I had a dream we flew Pacific Northwest again. But we never can. I suppose I should introduce myself, but I won’t; suffice to say, you’d probably pronounce my name wrong. Certainly they did when I first boarded that plane, all those years ago: “Hello, Miss” an incomprehensible murmur. Nowadays, I would…