New Beginnings

I don't keep close track to such things, but i'm pretty sure that at least when looking back at recent years, today was the earliest on record i've heard CNY music playing publicly - even before the new calendar year has started. Crept me out. Thankfully the supermarket i happened to be in today still had the sense to play Christmas music, but i think the days of CNY music-free supermarkets and other commercial establishments are very numbered.

Another set of days that are certainly very numbered are the number of free days before school starts again - three to be exact. Not that i have had a very fulfilling holiday to begin with, but i'll take whatever i can get. Maybe it's the relative un-freedom of this soon-to-end holiday that has prompted me to already start researching on possible holiday trip locations for next year, even though it's increasingly looking like my June holidays will be another non-event and the next time i can take a trip out of Asia will be at the end of next year.

I shouldn't complain though. After all, as i remind myself frequently, my job is not to travel, but to teach. And the teaching experience next year promises to be very interesting, and if not more so, then at least in a very different year from what i've experienced thus far. On the plus side, next year i can be more focused, subject wise at least, compared to previously. Arguably, i also am able to teach things which are more in line with my teaching interests. However, that also means that i have a heck of a lot more preparatory work to do for this year's classes than i ever had to do in previous years. Furthermore, for the first time i'm also handling graduating classes, which implies the conducting of lessons over the June holidays (byebye summer vacation).

I'm quite ok with that though, and in fact, as cheesy as it sounds, i'm up to the challenge (or at least i say that now - check back in four months). So bring it on, 2011.