Dry Spell

     It's the hot and dry season now in Malaysia, and everyone's trying to find respite from the heat. Air-conds, paper fans, spaghetti straps, ice cold drinks... you name it, whatever it takes to keep us from popping like popcorns in a microwave oven! Thank God that there has been some occasional rain lately... maybe God decided that we in this corner of the world have suffered enough. But one thing's for sure, no one's complaining about the rain!

     My life right now has an uncanny resemblance to the current Malaysian weather -- lots of dryness and not enough of rain. I think it all stems from having too much stress and too little leisure time. The past few years have been a challenge to me. To be honest, ever since I got transferred to my present school five years ago, my stress level has doubled, if not tripled. Everything seemed to be a challenge: students, administrative tasks, reports, paperwork, and even interpersonal relationships with colleagues. In fact, at times, I felt as if I was going through a minefield in terms of communication with my colleagues. In short, high-level stress!!

     I am beginning to experience symptoms of burning out now. I know it's not a good thing, and I still really want to be a good teacher, but I just don't feel as eager to work as before. Frustrations at the workplace is the culprit here. Besides walking through the minefield of interpersonal relationships and office politics, I have also told my superiors to cut down on my workload, as I have been given a lot of heavy tasks for the past few years, and that I need a break to concentrate on my teaching. Well, guess what? I am still holding more or less the same portfolios, and never-ending ad-hoc tasks. Fat chance of getting that break. It's only fair to have a rotation system at work so that everyone gets a turn at a job, and gets to take a break once in a while too.

     My emotional state is not at its best right now. I am desperately waiting for some rains to come to dispel the dryness in my life. How can I lift myself up and find hope in life once more? It seems to be a good time to apply that famous law of attraction... send out positive thoughts and get positive outcomes. Hmm, while I am at that, should I also think about getting rich??  Any advice, people?