RANTING/VENTING MEGATHREAD 3.0

Two pairs of socks.  Two!!!

Does anybody have those days, where you come back from vacation and have no idea what in the world is going on? I've just come back from vacation and we've started February classes. But, I have no idea if I'm teaching or not today. My main co-teacher is changing schools and is no longer coming back, so I have a temporary co-teacher as well as my other co-teacher. I went to the English classroom a minute ago to see if my class was in there. But, there was another class in there with the temporary co-teacher. I can't find my other co-teacher whom I am supposed to be teaching with at the moment. The class is still listed on the schedule but I have no idea where it's supposed to be taking place at, the regular classrooms don't have computers. You have to bring a laptop with you to those classrooms. It's just one of those days I guess. It just makes me want to go home and become a blanket burrito. I still have two classes that are listed on the schedule but we shall see what happens. Is this a common thing for others during this time? Not gonna lie, it kind drives me a little crazy.

New office admin lady has decided that unless I magically produce a certificate of residence from thin air before Feb 3rd, then I have to do my own taxes 
I handed in my certificate the first day I arrived at my school in Aug 2015. Last year the office guy just sorted everything. I'm still in my 2 year exemption phase. Just applied for a new cert on the stupid UK goverment website and it takes 35 days to process.
 

Just to let you know...when i applied for a second one the government said no, i could only have one certificate to last the two years. :/ Fingers crossed for you though! You probably will get it because I know some others that did....I swear no one here or there knows what they are doing.

Fingers firmly crossed!

I know this doesn't help you with the current situation, but from now on, always keep a photocopy of every document you turn in to your MOE or to your school administrators. I guarantee this won't be the last time they lose something that's important to you.

New office admin lady has decided that unless I magically produce a certificate of residence from thin air before Feb 3rd, then I have to do my own taxes 
I handed in my certificate the first day I arrived at my school in Aug 2015. Last year the office guy just sorted everything. I'm still in my 2 year exemption phase. Just applied for a new cert on the stupid UK goverment website and it takes 35 days to process.
 

Just to let you know...when i applied for a second one the government said no, i could only have one certificate to last the two years. :/ Fingers crossed for you though! You probably will get it because I know some others that did....I swear no one here or there knows what they are doing.

Fingers firmly crossed!

I know this doesn't help you with the current situation, but from now on, always keep a photocopy of every document you turn in to your MOE or to your school administrators. I guarantee this won't be the last time they lose something that's important to you.

Thanks for the tip. The annoying thing is it's not lost. It's in the tax office where it should be and where it was sent in Sept 2015. It wasn't required last January so I don't know why she needs it this year...

But yes, the photocopier is my new best friend! 

The cold is seriously demotivating. I'm getting some drawing done at least, with some TV running in the background. Not much longer! Then I can do the same thing at home where it's warmer lol

How is the drawing going? Getting some good lines in?

I'm so cold and bored. I brought stuff to do/ read today but can't really bring myself to do it. I'm just cuddled in my massive jacket flicking between  facebook, news sites, buzzfeed and shopping. Its killing me. Only an hour and 15 minutes to go.....

This was me yesterday, minus the shopping.  Today I decided, bugger it, lets see how high I can crank this air-con.  I'm stupidly paranoid the VP will come in and tell me not to have the aircon set so high.  I really shouldn't worry, but I do feel kinda guilty heating this bog room for just me.  Send me home if you want to save money!!

The cold is seriously demotivating. I'm getting some drawing done at least, with some TV running in the background. Not much longer! Then I can do the same thing at home where it's warmer lol

How is the drawing going? Getting some good lines in?

Fairly well, I think. I'm experimenting with stippling and also am practicing figure drawing. Kinda just letting the imagination run, which I think is good fun. I enjoy drawing creatures.

Stippling is stupid time-consuming though I'm probably just not that efficient yet. I seem to be developing something of a style though, which is cool

I genuinely feel bad for all you poor folks freezing. I have the opposite problem. The teacher's office is stifling! I feel like I'm going to melt! I think it must be the only room in the school where the radiators actually work and they must be cranked up to the max. As soon as you leave the office the chill returns though.

I wouldn't swap for the cold mind you

I've just checked on the system and my February vacation was never approved. It was actually cancelled in January but I was told, in January, that my leave had finally been OKed because they'd changed it oh so many, many, many times. I decided to check up on this after finding out that somebody changed the days (AGAIN!!!) about when the teachers have to come into school.

Currently, I'm going to have to have a split vacation. Possibly.

I've just checked on the system and my February vacation was never approved. It was actually cancelled in January but I was told, in January, that my leave had finally been OKed because they'd changed it oh so many, many, many times. I decided to check up on this after finding out that somebody changed the days (AGAIN!!!) about when the teachers have to come into school.

Currently, I'm going to have to have a split vacation. Possibly.

That sucks. I really don't understand how difficult it is to decide when vactaions/new year starts and when kids/teachers should be in school. UK schools have their holidays set in stone for like 5 years in advance.
I had a strange conversation before xmas with my coteacher about my February holiday, she said we will request it on the system in February. I was quite anxious about this until my VP asked me when I was going home the other day. Biggest sigh of relief EVER that she's aware. Coteacher is back in tomorrow so I am going to be on her until she inputs that request!

I've just checked on the system and my February vacation was never approved. It was actually cancelled in January but I was told, in January, that my leave had finally been OKed because they'd changed it oh so many, many, many times. I decided to check up on this after finding out that somebody changed the days (AGAIN!!!) about when the teachers have to come into school.

Currently, I'm going to have to have a split vacation. Possibly.

That sucks. I really don't understand how difficult it is to decide when vactaions/new year starts and when kids/teachers should be in school. UK schools have their holidays set in stone for like 5 years in advance.
I had a strange conversation before xmas with my coteacher about my February holiday, she said we will request it on the system in February. I was quite anxious about this until my VP asked me when I was going home the other day. Biggest sigh of relief EVER that she's aware. Coteacher is back in tomorrow so I am going to be on her until she inputs that request!

This is what I don't understand. It's like, November and I don't know when my vacation in mid-January is. It's utter insanity. This shit should all be hammered out the January BEFORE, before the school year starts.

...I had a strange conversation before xmas with my coteacher about my February holiday, she said we will request it on the system in February...

This! This is the reason I was told they deleted my leave. That it had to be requested in February. Unfortunately, the one person I can speak to about actually entering my leave in the system (for the umpteenth time) is in a panic because he was just told the same thing and he booked a non-refundable vacation.

I think he's actually gone to speak to someone about it now but from the sounds that have gone before, it might not end as quietly and happily as he thinks it will.

Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Man that all blows. I've been fortunate in that my main school doesn't make major schedule shifts. The big things like school vacation and that random week in Feb. remain the same as planned the previous year. Minor things like field trips do get shuffled around.

Luckily my coT and principal understand the need to buy plane tickets in advance so camp schedules get ironed out at least a few months in advance. I would be so peeved if such things were left to the last minute.

Apparently my school IS getting a new foreign teacher, but only for one day a week, and they're going to be living in my apartment so their main school wants to check it out

I am low-key freaking out because that means I need to get serious about cleaning tonight (I said they could come tomorrow because I knew that if I said "oh in a week" I'd just be anxious about cleaning for a whole week instead of one night) and AHHH

I tried to ask my coteacher if I could talk to the new teacher to see if they want me to leave any furniture, etc since I know I would've really appreciated if my apartment had come with more furniture than it did, but she's insistent that even if the new teacher would want me to leave things, I have to throw them away or sell them anyways (and also that the new teacher hasn't been placed yet)

ALSO I sort of broke the bed that my school provided when I was taking it apart; I'm pretty sure I can put it back together but not until I get rid of my current bed and I'm hoping if they look at it it just looks taken apart and not broken (a screw was ripped out in a way that probably requires wood glue to fix and a piece of metal bent but judging by how easily it bent I should be able to bend it back)

asdflkj

I need to do some prep for tomorrow otherwise I'd try to ask for early leave to do some more cleaning

Apparently my school IS getting a new foreign teacher, but only for one day a week, and they're going to be living in my apartment so their main school wants to check it out

I am low-key freaking out because that means I need to get serious about cleaning tonight (I said they could come tomorrow because I knew that if I said "oh in a week" I'd just be anxious about cleaning for a whole week instead of one night) and AHHH

I tried to ask my coteacher if I could talk to the new teacher to see if they want me to leave any furniture, etc since I know I would've really appreciated if my apartment had come with more furniture than it did, but she's insistent that even if the new teacher would want me to leave things, I have to throw them away or sell them anyways (and also that the new teacher hasn't been placed yet)

ALSO I sort of broke the bed that my school provided when I was taking it apart; I'm pretty sure I can put it back together but not until I get rid of my current bed and I'm hoping if they look at it it just looks taken apart and not broken (a screw was ripped out in a way that probably requires wood glue to fix and a piece of metal bent but judging by how easily it bent I should be able to bend it back)

asdflkj

I need to do some prep for tomorrow otherwise I'd try to ask for early leave to do some more cleaning

How exactly did you break the bed??

You know what schools need more of? Hot running water and soap in the bathrooms.

Ain't nobody wash their hands. Why? Because they just don't, but also because there's literally no hot water in the bathrooms, or if there is it comes out at a trickle.

Instead of investing in TV upgrades every few years, and allotting excessive budget to subject teachers to waste on English story books, etc, how about investing in your educational infrastructure by bringing your buildings up to semi-modern, developed standards. Korea isn't a poor country. It prides itself on its education system. It spends an insane amount of money on that education system.

Another school I worked at turned the hot water off between spring and fall, because it wasn't needed to keep the pipes from freezing.

DANG man. Hot water isn't really something you should consider a luxury unless you're really poor. And soap. C'mon. Damn.

Man, today my school has no toilet papper so I'm currently searching for alternatives while trying not to pee myself. Consider yourself lucky.

You know what schools need more of? Hot running water and soap in the bathrooms.

Ain't nobody wash their hands. Why? Because they just don't, but also because there's literally no hot water in the bathrooms, or if there is it comes out at a trickle.

Instead of investing in TV upgrades every few years, and allotting excessive budget to subject teachers to waste on English story books, etc, how about investing in your educational infrastructure by bringing your buildings up to semi-modern, developed standards. Korea isn't a poor country. It prides itself on its education system. It spends an insane amount of money on that education system.

Another school I worked at turned the hot water off between spring and fall, because it wasn't needed to keep the pipes from freezing.

DANG man. Hot water isn't really something you should consider a luxury unless you're really poor. And soap. C'mon. Damn.

Man, today my school has no toilet papper so I'm currently searching for alternatives while trying not to pee myself. Consider yourself lucky.

Check your 교무실. There's always toilet paper there. Just ask if you can borrow some.

Not having toilet paper makes sense, because kids will just play with it and waste it. It's annoying, but like - having hot water would encourage people to practice basic hygiene.

I'll check when lunch is over. I hate going to the bathroom when on lunch or between cuz the kids don't understand privacy and they see me in the hall then stalk me to the bathroom and continue talking to me while i'm peeing.... I appreciate they they're eager to talk but like... don't stalk me into the bathroom please XD

Apparently my school IS getting a new foreign teacher, but only for one day a week, and they're going to be living in my apartment so their main school wants to check it out

I am low-key freaking out because that means I need to get serious about cleaning tonight (I said they could come tomorrow because I knew that if I said "oh in a week" I'd just be anxious about cleaning for a whole week instead of one night) and AHHH

I tried to ask my coteacher if I could talk to the new teacher to see if they want me to leave any furniture, etc since I know I would've really appreciated if my apartment had come with more furniture than it did, but she's insistent that even if the new teacher would want me to leave things, I have to throw them away or sell them anyways (and also that the new teacher hasn't been placed yet)

ALSO I sort of broke the bed that my school provided when I was taking it apart; I'm pretty sure I can put it back together but not until I get rid of my current bed and I'm hoping if they look at it it just looks taken apart and not broken (a screw was ripped out in a way that probably requires wood glue to fix and a piece of metal bent but judging by how easily it bent I should be able to bend it back)

asdflkj

I need to do some prep for tomorrow otherwise I'd try to ask for early leave to do some more cleaning

How exactly did you break the bed??

I was trying to put it in the storage space by myself but it's really wobbly/cheap/poorly constructed so the weight of one of the side panels made the metal piece bend when I was moving it, also causing a screw to rip through the wood which is actually just that thick particle board they use for cheap furniture

If I'd been doing it with another person they could've supported that weight but I'm a ding dong so I got like 90% done alone and then I was like crap I might need help but it was too late

You know what schools need more of? Hot running water and soap in the bathrooms.

Ain't nobody wash their hands. Why? Because they just don't, but also because there's literally no hot water in the bathrooms, or if there is it comes out at a trickle.

Instead of investing in TV upgrades every few years, and allotting excessive budget to subject teachers to waste on English story books, etc, how about investing in your educational infrastructure by bringing your buildings up to semi-modern, developed standards. Korea isn't a poor country. It prides itself on its education system. It spends an insane amount of money on that education system.

Another school I worked at turned the hot water off between spring and fall, because it wasn't needed to keep the pipes from freezing.

DANG man. Hot water isn't really something you should consider a luxury unless you're really poor. And soap. C'mon. Damn.

I feel embarrassed that I don't always wash my hands or do a really half-assed job at it but seriously the water is so COLD

You know what schools need more of? Hot running water and soap in the bathrooms.

Ain't nobody wash their hands. Why? Because they just don't, but also because there's literally no hot water in the bathrooms, or if there is it comes out at a trickle.

Instead of investing in TV upgrades every few years, and allotting excessive budget to subject teachers to waste on English story books, etc, how about investing in your educational infrastructure by bringing your buildings up to semi-modern, developed standards. Korea isn't a poor country. It prides itself on its education system. It spends an insane amount of money on that education system.

Another school I worked at turned the hot water off between spring and fall, because it wasn't needed to keep the pipes from freezing.

DANG man. Hot water isn't really something you should consider a luxury unless you're really poor. And soap. C'mon. Damn.

I feel embarrassed that I don't always wash my hands or do a really half-assed job at it but seriously the water is so COLD

Exactly. And cold water doesn't rinse soap off well. On top of being miserable and uncomfortable.

I always keep wet wipes and hand sanitizer for this problem. Also keep the wipes for using in public bathrooms in stations because it's usually hit or miss with the loo roll and there's usually too many girls brushing their teeth or applying makeup at the sinks.

Also the no hot water and soap thing makes me hate actually getting out the of bathrooms. God only knows what's living on those door handles...