Archive for July, 2008
I have to be on Exam Duty
Today is Sunday, but I have to be on exam duty in my college. The exam duty is a nuisance for most of the teaching staff ( especially females). Many lecturers had proposed that the non-teaching staff be employed in the duty and those lecturers, who are not interested in this duty, they should be spared.but the new principal is adamant that the lecturers will do this duty.
Lecturers argue that these exams are being conducted by a different university, so they should not be forced to do the exam duty. They say that we already do other duties( including exams) which are assigned by our own university, so either the college should decline to hold exams of other universities or it should involve the whole non-teaching staff, so that lecturers don’t feel the pinch.
The remuneration is pathetic. Its $2.50 per exam, why would I sweat for four hours in this heat just for this petty amount?
The new principal seems to be rude and un-coperative. He straight forward told all the staff that they have to do these duties come what may. Now people have devised ways to get around it. Many lecturers get the duties assigned in pairs ( two teachers in one room). Teacher A will come in the second half, till then teacher B will do the exam duty. After teacher A comes, teacher B leaves for home. So both of them are being paid for two hours instead of four.
Can Asthma be so Severe?
Can asthma be so severe, that all the body parts of the patient become stiff and the body itself is arched like a bow. Well I have never seen any asthmatic person to get such kind of fit, except my mother- in law. Yesterday, me and sister-in law were lying on bed and chatting. Suddenly we heard mother-in law coughing. That’s not unusual. After a few minutes, my father-in law called out. When we went in their room, my mother in law seemed unconscious and her body had turned stiff, her knees had bent and neck was protruding upwards. I put all pressure on the legs to straighten them, Devaki( sister in law) rubbed her feet and father-in law gently thumped her chest. After a while she came to her senses.
In my opinion, it was all drama, with an intention to gain attention. You see, Devaki’s aunt has come for some treatment for her back ache. I think that this fit was a show staged for Devaki’s aunt, to gain her sympathy and to get publicity. It is obvious that Devaki’s aunt will narrate the incident after returning home and they will discuss how ill Devaki’s mother-in law is. Its all done to get sympathy and attention.
My mother-in law never gets this fit when she is alone. Her condition invariably distorts when there are people around her, who can take care of her. She had to live alone on and off for two years when my brother-in law Satish met with an accident and everybody had to shift base to look after him. My mother-in law couldn’t go because she has a job here. I was staying in other city for my job. There was nobody with my mother-in law, and she did okay. Never had any asthma attack or the fit which I described above.
An Ideal Daughter- in Law
Who is an ideal daughter- in law? The one who doesn’t utter a word in front of her in laws, does all the house chores beside her job, never complains, never visits her maternal home, never eats or drinks any thing without taking permission from her mother- in law. I qualify most of the above said criteria, except the first one. I had an upbringing, where I was taught to say a wrong is wrong and you should say it without any fear. Here in my husband’s house, it is considered a sin to say anything agianst your elders, even if they are hundred percent wrong. And this rule applies not to the sons, but the daughter- in laws of the house.
I am a 32 year old Indian woman who spends most of the time in Europe. I thought that I liked to travel, but now I am not so sure. I have been to Switzerland, France, England, Scotland and Spain. I have a little daughter whom I dot on (all mothers do, nothing new). I fear that my overbearing attitude is turning her into a timid and fearful person. I am a recluse and don’t like to interact with people. Internet is my hiding place. I am most comfortable and at ease when I am writing in my blogs. One day I want to quit my job and turn to full time blogging (oh! The ultimate dream of all introverts).
