I know it's not supposed to be an onerous occupation and ever since Lea introduced me to the possibilities of blogging I've been hooked. I really enjoy sharing my passions, experinces, joys, celebrations and sometimes traumas that hit us all. I have loved meeting all the wonderful people around the world, finding out about them and hearing theur stories. Recently I have been fortunate to gain a number of new readers who comment so positively and encouragingly to my thoughts and feelings. I have been lucky to have a few readers who have been following me since the very beginning.
With more followers comes more responsibility. As I'm not someone who likes to take and not back I have felt some frustration at not being able to do blogging justice. We all get busy but the blogging world only survives because we take the time to respond and show we care. I find it special to be involved in other people's lives. A heart-felt sorry to those followers who I haven't got to recently.
With that big build up I'm now going to revisit an old post to go alongside this apologetic post. It continues a theme I started 2 weeks ago on Getting To Know You.
I know several of my readers are or were teachers so this post might appeal to them. Let's face it we've all had school day experiences good and bad and this post helps explain why I'm a teacher and the significance teaching has in my life. Good often comes from bad and I believe my poor education makes me a better teacher. Here is my story!
Here is a photo of my official teacher registration presentation in Porirua while working at Waitangirua Intermediate.
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| Thankyou very much! |
I wasn't always a teacher [Part 1]
How I became a teacher was more luck than good management. More details at a later date.
On leaving school I trained to be a Catholic Priest for 2 years in Christchurch. However at the tender age of 19 realised that there was so much I hadn't experienced of life and decided I needed to do some exploring. Without giving my life story I'd like to mention about my early work history and some light hearted moments.
Having left the Seminary I looked after delinquent boys under the guidance of a Brother who couldn't believe I could sleep so much. It was a rundown house we lived in and at night the mice came out to play. I remember my feelings of horror when the lounge would come alive with up to 15 mice. Frankly I was quite relieved after 6 months when the Brother suggested I look for other employment.
I stayed in Christchurch for the next 2 years working for Ballantynes Department Store [famous for their fire in the 1930's] in their office in Cashel St. It seems hard to believe that I worked in an area that recently was devastated by the disastrous eathquake of February 2011.
Now in my early 20's I thought I would go back to my home town of Dunedin. I moved in with mum and dad and was fortunate to get a job with Cadburys. I started out as a Storeman to my dad's disappointment. He felt 5 years of College was wasted doing labouring work. Some interesting characters! One I worked with took great pleasure daily winding me up with comments such as 'you're lucky you weren't born a dwarf' [reference to my small stature] and regularly referred to me as a Temporary New Zealander [due to my owning a motorbike]. After a year in the store I moved into the Cadbury Office to the delight of my dad. I delivered mail around the factory and was able to sample some of the wares as I proceeded on my rounds. In those days I was extremely popular with my running buddies who purchased chocolate bars at about 10 cents each.
In my mid 20's I knew there was a big world out there and pursued my dreams to travel America and Britain.
Due to the length of this blog and the reality that I had far too many exciting and interesting times on my 3 year O.E to include here I will sign off. I will reflect on some of the most memorable experiences in preparation for my next entry.
On leaving school I trained to be a Catholic Priest for 2 years in Christchurch. However at the tender age of 19 realised that there was so much I hadn't experienced of life and decided I needed to do some exploring. Without giving my life story I'd like to mention about my early work history and some light hearted moments.
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| Usual church group but not usual dress attire [that's me lying down] |
Having left the Seminary I looked after delinquent boys under the guidance of a Brother who couldn't believe I could sleep so much. It was a rundown house we lived in and at night the mice came out to play. I remember my feelings of horror when the lounge would come alive with up to 15 mice. Frankly I was quite relieved after 6 months when the Brother suggested I look for other employment.
I stayed in Christchurch for the next 2 years working for Ballantynes Department Store [famous for their fire in the 1930's] in their office in Cashel St. It seems hard to believe that I worked in an area that recently was devastated by the disastrous eathquake of February 2011.
Now in my early 20's I thought I would go back to my home town of Dunedin. I moved in with mum and dad and was fortunate to get a job with Cadburys. I started out as a Storeman to my dad's disappointment. He felt 5 years of College was wasted doing labouring work. Some interesting characters! One I worked with took great pleasure daily winding me up with comments such as 'you're lucky you weren't born a dwarf' [reference to my small stature] and regularly referred to me as a Temporary New Zealander [due to my owning a motorbike]. After a year in the store I moved into the Cadbury Office to the delight of my dad. I delivered mail around the factory and was able to sample some of the wares as I proceeded on my rounds. In those days I was extremely popular with my running buddies who purchased chocolate bars at about 10 cents each.
In my mid 20's I knew there was a big world out there and pursued my dreams to travel America and Britain.
Due to the length of this blog and the reality that I had far too many exciting and interesting times on my 3 year O.E to include here I will sign off. I will reflect on some of the most memorable experiences in preparation for my next entry.
I onced lived in a very old house while attending college, and the mice there may have been cousins several times removed from yours. My skin crawled, reading your experience with them! Brought back SO many memories.
ReplyDeleteMy lifelong dream was to be a journalist and/or photographer. Spent a number of years doing that, a few years doing an assortment of different things, and now 19 years with the same non-journalism-related employer where I get to use journalism and photography skills but without all the news deadlines, stress and overtime. Thank heavens!
To work in a place like Cadburys would have been fatal for me. I would weigh about nine billion pounds now!
What a very interesting life you have led. I am looking forward to reading more.
ReplyDeleteI have never seen a real mice, just on TV, but that sounds so horrible. I don't think I could have ever slept knowing they were there. So glad you moved on to a much better place.
Yum on the Cadburys....I agree with Miss Snowcatcher above, I would not be able to walk after a while.....Oh the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak...you know!
Blessings to you always
Hi Paul! Well, I quasi-dated a few guys who were in the early years of seminary, though I wouldn't call it serious, though one of them thought it was serious. How funny is that?! They were both very nice guys. Neither became priests, though I have two younger cousins who did become priests.
ReplyDelete:-) Marion
its interesting...we share a few things...i was a pastor for a bit...and now i am a teacher....smiles...i also worked a factory years back...look forward to hearing a bit more of your adventures man...
ReplyDeleteIn the 70's I used to visit a friend who lived in Delaware (when I lived in Pennsylvania) on the weekends. He had a double-wide trailer in the woods. Much to my horror, he shared his double-wide with a horde of mice. We would go out for a "night on the town" (visiting the local gay bars) and return to find mice droppings all over the bedspreads, kitchen table and even inside the cabinets where the dishes and glassware were stored. Needless to say we (a group of us used to visit) informed him that he HAD TO GET RID of the mice. He put a skirt on his double-wide and viola! The mice were gone. Later he got a cat. We never saw mice again.
ReplyDeleteI agree with another commenter, you have lead a very interesting life...and you have so much more to go.
RonRetired in Delaware
My skin crawls when you talk of sharing our louge with 15 mice. When Kevin and I sit in our living room in the evening here in the cabin we can hear a mouse (could be a rat but we think it's a mouse) scratching away. It is either in the walls or in the basement crawl space. I don't mind it there as long as it doesn't come into the cabin and make a mess.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to hearing more about your life and the traveling in American and Britian.
Ruth
www.travelwithkevinandruth.com
Hi Paul! I've been a bad blog buddy and I just realized I don't have you on my sidebar to see when you post...but I'm fixing that so I can keep up with your blog and also to get the rest of your interesting life story! The mice thing had me squirming in my seat but when we're young we put up with stuff we wouldn't dream of doing now! Interesting story about being a priest..almost priest I should say! My story is more boring...when I was in school I was going to be a secretary in the business world. I took a temporary job for the summer after graduation as a nurse's aide in the surgery department at the hospital where my Mom worked. I loved it, went back to school and have worked in surgery since 1974..I still love it! Have a great weekend...oh, I loved the pix of your new home and I hope you have fun working in your garden!
ReplyDeleteHi Paul! I've been a bad blog buddy and I just realized I don't have you on my sidebar to see when you post...but I'm fixing that so I can keep up with your blog and also to get the rest of your interesting life story! The mice thing had me squirming in my seat but when we're young we put up with stuff we wouldn't dream of doing now! Interesting story about being a priest..almost priest I should say! My story is more boring...when I was in school I was going to be a secretary in the business world. I took a temporary job for the summer after graduation as a nurse's aide in the surgery department at the hospital where my Mom worked. I loved it, went back to school and have worked in surgery since 1974..I still love it! Have a great weekend...oh, I loved the pix of your new home and I hope you have fun working in your garden!
ReplyDeleteA winding path through life is much more interesting than a straight one; I am sure that from ALL your working experience you have gained valuable knowledge, which means nobody should be disappointed if someone takes a job that seems to be "beneath" their original education.
ReplyDeleteMy own work experience is relatively varied, although I am only in my 5th job since starting to work in 1986. But in spite of these 5 jobs being in very different industries, I have found I was able to use the experience gathered in each previous job in the one that followed, and now I am drawing on a treasure of experience of all my former jobs combined. I wouldn't want to miss any of them.
What an interesting post, Paul. I really enjoyed reading it. I wouldn't care to share a room with so many mice, one or two I could tolerate but fifteen would be a bit worrying. Looking forward to Part 2. Happy weekend to you and Lea.
ReplyDeleteJobs? I've had many. Lol. Taught English as a 2nd Language in Thailand for 10 months. Wrote for the local papers in Hawaii and published 3 memoirs and a memoir. Was a radio commentator for 15 months. Now, a blogger and having fun meeting bloggers in person. Met 2 Indian bloggers in India last November. Fun to break bread with old friends!
ReplyDeleteI have worked in higher education ever since I graduated college but every once in a while I am tempted to explore other careers. That being said, I love what I do.
ReplyDeleteI know exactly what you mean about blogging. I do now feel a heavy responsibility with it and a tad bit of obligation. I also find great enjoyment and knowledge. You're never really alone when you blog. I've gotten to know so many people around the world. I am very, very pleased to have met you and be able to learn more about your interesting life. I guess I've always been a teacher and always loved it.
ReplyDeleteDelightful to read about those early working years... your description of all those mice coming out at night in the lounge had me cringing! lol
ReplyDeleteHonestly I think mice are very cute. If only they didn't poop everywhere and chew on everything! That drives me crazy.
ReplyDeleteIt's fun to hear about your experiences ... I can't imagine working for Cadburys. How did you stay so slim?
And yes, the more you blog and make blog friends, the more time is required to keep up with them all. I struggle with this all the time. If you ever find the solution please post about it - and the rest of us will eventually read the post (when we have time). :)