time, to me, has been travelling at double its speed. with so many things to juggle, my days seem like mere 10 hour days. as for those who are unsure of what i was trying to get at with my previous post, i was just trying to prove my schedule for a day. thanks to the upcoming Angels Cup, i'm up to my nose with work to do.
for those who don't know, i'm a rhythmic gymnastics coach at Sri Petaling primary school in PJ. My classes are usually on Sat mornings. But lately, it's been close to daily. I have to say this, my former coach Mrs Khaw is a genius! How she managed to choreograph for such a huge group, train us up in 5 days or less and still make us champs at the past gymnaestradas is a mystery to me. When Regina, my chief coach, and I got together to come up with a routine, we only tailored it for 20 girls. The next thing i knew, 25 girls are in the picture. at the next practise, 4 others show up. and finally, i now have 30. It was tough having to make spontaneous changes without compensating technical and artistic values of the routine. Regina works so classes on weekdays are carried out by yours truly, in between my classes. Whenever i have a break that's more than 2 hours long, i'm rushing to my car and sprinting down the federal highway to PJ. At night, i'd crack my head for balances, pivots and leaps to be slotted in whereever possible. These girls may not be the highest skilled gymnasts but that doesnt mean they dont deserve a chance to beat those angels!
There were times where i felt like i was the worst coach on earth. I was so afraid to offend these girls that i tried my best to please everyone of them. I tried being firm, but a couple of them ended up in tears. Then when it came to choosing reserves, i was at a total lost. I hated deciding who to choose, because when you see them dancing, they all just looked so happy! To strip them off the team seemed like a crime. And when i finally made my decision, i had to answer to their parents! Sometimes i feel as though parents these days want the world for their children at the expense of others. If i had come home and told my mum that i was a reserve many years back, she'd just tell me that i was not graceful enough to be in the team, and make jokes about me being "unrefined" like she always did. and i'd just laugh. but these parents seriously lack the sense of humour! they had 1001 questions, ready to bombard you the second you raise your voice at their child.
Thank God, things have settled down now. I have chosen 4 reserves, who actually, chose themselves when they decide to skip my classes. I have managed to complete the routine according to music. And the whole thing is finally looking more like a presentation. With more practise they should be able to familiarise themselves without me shouting over the music telling them what's next.
It is the week after the raya holidays that i am not looking forward to. The teacher advisor has requested me to have training every single day. And on the days which i say i have no classes at all, she wanted 1 pm - 5 pm. I am so going to lose my voice...and if i don't pull up my socks...my sanity.
on the other hand, my research group project is not looking very good. Thanks to some inconsiderate imbecile of a groupmate, i had extra work to do. because most of them skipped pretty much all the lab sessions, they know absolutely nothing about the SPSS program. To find them and teach them one by one was far too time consuming, especially since some of them are impossible to get on the line. There is one who was geniuinely eager to help me out. However it was too much of a hassle to get together in front of a pc and do the statistical analysis. I didnt have the time.
perhaps, it is partly my fault because I sometimes refuse to delegate. its just that whenever there was a group work in the past, i end up doing everything again because i felt what they did was under par.
In short, life has been CRAZY. The only upside out of all this is that i am finally done with my Leadership Camp report. But it's too long to be posted here. I hope it doesnt send readers into a slumber. :)
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