New Norm At Work

School's started last week. The timetable changed to accommodate the SOPs. The staff and students' body temperatures were taken every morning. We had to wash our hands before going into the school premises. We had to sanitize our tables and chairs every morning as well. 

The P allowed the teachers to eat at the canteen. The students, though, were disallowed to do so. During recess, the students had to queue up to go to the canteen, and then wash their hands too before buying their food. They then brought their food back to their classroom to eat, supervised by the teacher. 

I was assigned recess duties. So every recess, I had to go to a designated class to "invite" the students to go to the canteen, and then accompany them downstairs, ensure they line up and wash their hands and then accompany them back to their classroom, and keep watch while they eat. It was babysitting duties which I did not mind since it allowed me the opportunity to exercise a bit, climbing up and down the stairs to the classroom and the canteen. 

Because of all these procedures, the regular housekeeping period and recess had been lengthen ... and we all would go home 30 minutes later than usual. Next week, we'd have to do our extracurricular activities online in the afternoons as well.  

Our regular teacher-on-duty schedule was revamped too. I was now on duty every fortnight, on Fridays. I was in charge of a classroom block .. that meant I just had to stand there to make sure that the students were orderly and stayed one-metre apart from one another while they go in and out their classrooms in the morning and after school.

My table in the staffroom was x-ed. Lol. That meant I had to move out and sit elsewhere. My colleagues and I convened in a classroom .... but somehow it turned out that all of us in that classroom were Chinese. It was very distracting because we talked too much. Heh. So I couldn't get things done for the first 2 days. The 3rd day was better since there was a new Internet network installed at our location and I could get on with work. 

Age is surely catching up. I just felt so lethargic over the past 4 days since school reopened. I think it was because I had to wake up early at 5.00 am. After all these days, I still hated waking up at the ungodly hour of 5 am. So for 3 months during MCO, I'd been happy to wake up past 7.00 a.m. I knew I'd suffer once school started ... and indeed I am now suffering till I can tune my body clock once more to waking up early. I would force myself be in bed by 10.00 pm ... but sometimes I'd wake up at 3.30 a.m. If I were lucky then I'd manage to sleep till the alarm woke me up at 5.00 a.m. Another reason why I was so tired was probably because of PMS. Now that I'm older, I feel the effects more. 

I'd be functioning alright in the morning in school ... but once I reached home, I would be zapped out of all the energy. I'd be struggling to keep my eyes open. It would be good to have a short power nap. I didn't because I was worried that it would hinder me from sleeping at night. So I'd be lying down on the floor and be too tired even to get up.

Now that school's started, I only have time to play around in the kitchen during the weekend ....

Chicken and potato Paratha Puff

These puffs are easy to make using frozen paratha pastry .... just cook up some potatoes and chicken with curry paste to wrap in the pastry and bake till browned. They make a great tea time treat! Have a good week ahead, people!