What are you doing during these strange virus times?

As it sounds really.  Obviously everyone here is having different experiences with lockdowns/working from home/going to an empty school or something like that so you've got to fill your time.  Are you learning something new?  Are you finding out something new?  Have you found something that will help you connect with family or friends to help with the isolation.  Anything really. 

At the moment, my siblings and I are worried about our parents.  My mum is okay, but my dad is struggling, he gets depressed and as he should limit his going out (he lives in Manchester) it means he stays in a lot.  When he came over at Christmas, we played a lot of Cribbage, which is a card game we, in my family, have played a lot and really like.  Now I've found this website https://my.ecribbage.com/ where we can actually play online together.  We call up each other on whatsapp, as it's free, and so we can talk and play at the same time.  Kills a good hour or two and really helps him.

having a crack at these rockbusters

https://www.facebook.com/KarlPilkington/videos/2667859703446240/?t=14

and ah yeah, i used to play crib with my grandparents all the time. forgotten the rules now but the phrase "fifteen one, fifteen two" is forever burned in my brain

i've read 16 books this year so far :/ trying to read at least 50 this year

and ah yeah, i used to play crib with my grandparents all the time. forgotten the rules now but the phrase "fifteen one, fifteen two" is forever burned in my brain

"Fifteen two, fifteen four".... 15 is for two points, never 1.

I taught my students cribbage in January on a winter vacation Game Day. I have a "Game Day" every 5-8 weeks. It really is a skill learning exercise that takes a lot of listening skill. I never play the same game in future classes, because they've already learned it, and the point was to learn thru English, not just play the game.

This month of unemployment? I play a card game online: Hearts. Against others live. Hearts.vex.net

"Fifteen two, fifteen four".... 15 is for two points, never 1.

haha there you go. completely forgotten how to play

Learning as many banging riffs/licks as possible on my new Tele thinline

And listening to a lot of blues. Albert King mainly. What a boss.

haha there you go. completely forgotten how to play

Yeah, my grandmother also taught me it. I played it a lot when visiting my aunt in elementary school. My dad taught me poker games but after he retired he too played it with me, hence my memory.

We were notified to work from home starting this past Monday.  The initial time given to us was 3 weeks.  This may be extended pending circumstances.

No impact on salary.  I am still required to perform my taskings and report to my CoC on my progress.

The benefits of this are I can sleep in, work out when I want outside and take breaks without interruptions.  The WFH directive has been fantastic.

having a crack at these rockbusters

https://www.facebook.com/KarlPilkington/videos/2667859703446240/?t=14

I've only got Robert Palmer (Palma), Harry Styles and LC?  Lou Coop.

It doesn't fukcing work, you're an idiot.  That's the end of Rockbusters!

loo is cap aldi

Yeah really weird times.  If anything, it's really opened my eyes to how much teaching isn't the job for me, or at least teaching in the EPIK public school environment anyway.

Sad to admit it but the past few weeks at school have been like heaven for me.  No anxious feeling in the pit of my stomach on a Sunday night, no stressing about material or worrying about what I'm going to teach.  All I have to do is go to school, make a flask of coffee and veg out in the office all day, alone.  Watching Youtube, browsing the internet, reading books, playing my Switch.  It's pathetic really, but I'd rather be doing this than teach a class. 

Obviously I should be studying Korean, learning to code, watching TED talks, "levelling up", "hustling", getting a Masters probably but all of that has sort of fallen by the wayside as I realise that I have no motivation to do anything here.

Also I have to mention, I'm embarassed and ashamed that I'm getting paid to do nothing because a lot of people aren't.  That doesn't make me feel good at all.

if it's any consolation, i hated teaching with EPIK too. too many kids, all different levels, shit textbooks, unprofessional environment. you gonna stay another year alex or?

I really don't know because realistically, there's not a lot else I can do here.  I might just do a shot in the dark application for the British Council (I have had a couple of job alerts recently from them) at the end of this year with a view to trying to get in for March 2021.  If that goes nowhere then I'll probably go home for a nice long rest.  I feel like I should at least give teaching one more shot in another environment to see how I really feel about it.  I can't trust my feelings about teaching if that makes sense because like you say, the public school environment is so ridiculous.

Incidentally I was looking back through some old emails to friends back home and even in 2017 I was saying how down I felt about the job, working environment etc.  Still here three years later haha.   

I feel you, Alex. I'm similarly disillusioned with the whole EPIK deal. My last two years at middle school have brought me to the brink of sanity more times than I can remember. I'll be moving to a new school next month, hopefully things will look up.

And since we're all sharing long-term plans... I'm thinking of moving my family (Korean wife and child) to South Africa for a year, after this next contract, so I can get my PGCE. Then start looking for an international school, possibly in the Middle East.

I really don't know because realistically, there's not a lot else I can do here.  I might just do a shot in the dark application for the British Council (I have had a couple of job alerts recently from them) at the end of this year with a view to trying to get in for March 2021.  If that goes nowhere then I'll probably go home for a nice long rest.  I feel like I should at least give teaching one more shot in another environment to see how I really feel about it.  I can't trust my feelings about teaching if that makes sense because like you say, the public school environment is so ridiculous.

Incidentally I was looking back through some old emails to friends back home and even in 2017 I was saying how down I felt about the job, working environment etc.  Still here three years later haha.   

Do it. I've heard the young learners centre is often on the look out for good teachers. You might start to like teaching in a good environment. Korean public schools can smd. Glad I got out of working there

I really don't know because realistically, there's not a lot else I can do here.  I might just do a shot in the dark application for the British Council (I have had a couple of job alerts recently from them) at the end of this year with a view to trying to get in for March 2021.  If that goes nowhere then I'll probably go home for a nice long rest.  I feel like I should at least give teaching one more shot in another environment to see how I really feel about it.  I can't trust my feelings about teaching if that makes sense because like you say, the public school environment is so ridiculous.

Incidentally I was looking back through some old emails to friends back home and even in 2017 I was saying how down I felt about the job, working environment etc.  Still here three years later haha.   

I heard from someone who had an interview with the BC in Korea last week that it was canceled.  I don't know if they're still hiring in other countries.  The teacher centre and exams part of the organisation (the ones that make the money) are going to suffer massively from this, although I did see an advert for IELTS examiners last week, so they're staying optimistic.

I'm definitely wondering how all of this is going to affect things for me moving forward. Like some of you, teaching here has just about ruined teaching for me, so I intend to go back home and retrain for a new career at the end of this school year.

I very nearly didn't even renew at the end of last year, but I didn't decide I wanted to leave until it was too close to the end of the school year to be charging off into unemployment without a plan. Now I've at least got this year to try to get my ducks in a row before leaving.

I have a lot of friends making decent money in various corners of the IT world, so I was thinking about getting a CompSci degree and some certs to try to get my foot in that door. I have no idea how this global crisis is going to affect the job market (or which aspects of it will be the hardest hit), though, which could have an impact on both my willingness to walk away from a paying job and the new career I'll choose have a go at.

loo is cap aldi

 

Woo!  Very good, Oglop.  Problem is, you think like Karl.   

I'm still walking around a lot, but I'm choosing to go on my walks and hikes in more isolated areas now. Thanks to all of my exploring over the years, I know a lot of off-the-beaten-path places that most people don't know anything about, so there's that. My gym is still open, and I've continued to go, but I've been waiting until, like, 1 in the morning, lol. I'm either alone at that time or there's maybe one or two other folks. I've been sanitizing my hands after using every machine, too.

I've been catching up on my backlog of movies that I've collected, knocking those out for when I'm taking a break from school stuff. FYI for those who don't know, yet: Disney has early-released its movie "Onward" today for people to enjoy during the quarantine.

And I've been keeping closer tabs on family, making sure they're alright and that their jobs are safe back home. A couple of them are at risk of being laid off because of this virus, so I've been walking them through creating backup plans in case that happens. Lot of anxiety there, but now that they know what they should do and who they should call in the worst case scenario, they feel better. There's been a lot of stress over people panic-buying, too, a lot of people aren't able to get the food and supplies that they need because others keep crowding the stores to clear out the shelves faster than stores can restock. According to my brother, Black Friday like lines have been forming outside of stores even at 3AM in his town. He's had to travel to rinky-dink towns out in the middle of the nowhere just for the basics. And now all of the gyms have closed in his area, which is a big deal for him (working out is a major source of stress-relief for him). Of course he can still do at home workouts, but he's going to lose some gains without being able to go heavy, so I've been a listening ear for him to voice that frustration, lol.

I've been checking in on some friends living in Europe, too. Relatively calm in some areas, lots of fear in others, different levels of asinine panic-buying there as well.

I've been tempted to try my hand at playing LoL, but I'm kind of afraid that the servers are being overloaded at this time, haha.

Went to the grocery store at 10 am, was very quiet, just 10 people around or so. So, no panic buying whatsoever.

No massive toilet paper purchases.

What's up with that?

Jugs of water or canned or dry goods or even booze i'd understand.

But T.P. in the U.S.? I just don't get it.