Sir and the Little Monkeys

Not feeling particularly wonderful this morning, I dragged myself up at 6am to get myself ready for school. There has been an infusion of ticket inspectors on the trains this week, so I wanted to get to the station that bit earlier. There is no ticket office or machine at my station, so I wanted to work out how the Permit to Travel machine worked before I boarded my train. It seemed a better idea than being stung with a £20 fine like the woman I was sitting next to yesterday. It was only once I had got there that I realised I had got my times mixed up. I always get the train at 7am on a Monday. On Fridays, I needn't be there until 8, so I ended up sitting in a supermarket cafe at the other end drinking a cup of tea and staring into nowhere for an hour that I could have spent in bed. I didn't feel my best still and my intention for today was to simply make it through the three lessons I had to teach.

In today's title, I liken the students to monkeys, but believe me, that was not the first word that came to mind. My first lesson went well. The kids were quiet and worked on their patchwork pieces nicely. However, the next two classes really played up. Their aggravating was not directed at me; they became distracted and disruptive with one another. One boy, who is not the easiest to work with, antagonised the other more sensitive pupils, which resulted in one of them running over to his desk and pushing him off of his chair. This was when I stopped being Mr Nice Guy, raised my voice, and started sending the culprits off to the quiet room.

I was pretty happy when the bell rang and it was time for me to go home. Feeling a little robbed of energy once again, I came home and slept away a couple of hours. After I awoke, I wrote to my agent, as I need to sort out where to put my contracted dates into the diary. This is kind of where I find meaning in today's card. The figure (I can't tell if it is male or female) looks out to the water. The water represents the future for me and the figure makes plans for it. This is what I understand by intention. Yes, I had decided to try me best to get through this morning's lessons with my fatigue, but the card is also about setting further-reaching goals and making others aware of your intentions. I have told my agent where I feel those extra days would be best placed, due to the overwhelming amount of extra work I have to do.

As I mentioned recently, I need some time away from the night's out. There are a few on the horizon, but this weekend I want to hide away with my boyfriend and leave the party animals to go off and party without us. Most of them seem to show no signs of waving the white flag just yet, but I have had enough for the moment. I need to rest and give myself a break. My boyfriend is on his way here at the moment and is bringing us a takeaway - a well deserved treat after my day in the cage with the monkeys.



Illustration from The Angels of Atlantis Oracle Cards by Stewart Pearce and Richard Crookes