a little bit of happiness

Life's been... stressful to say the least. My current school is this dumpster fire turned into a flaming shit storm and I just don't know what to do anymore. The chaos is made worse by the fact that the ongoing pandemic is really causing some serious damage to the kids we're teaching because things like socializing and having to live with rules that prevent the spread of the virus are not easy to grasp for younger kids especially. And I think a lot of parents are also getting stressed which is poison for their kids and... it's a vicious circle. On some days, I really feel myself hitting my limits.

I really like working for my company, usually. And I really like (even love) being a teacher. Usually. But right now I am so ready to just call it quits. And I have sent out some job applications. So far fruitless. Or the jobs just didn't pay enough (no point in changing jobs if I need to work 2 in order to survive).

BUT

That's not what today's post is supposed to be about.

It's supposed to be about the good things that happened today. My little oasis of happiness, my BANQUET ISLAND of FREEDOM.

Yes, we're in the middle of a pandemic and yes, the numbers in Tokyo are frankly looking pretty damn SHIT right now but my boys still went ahead with their concert. I mean, considering that things are pretty much business as usual over here despite all, it's not surprising. And y'know, they have to live, too. This is what they do for a living. And the government isn't doing much to help the entertainment industry.

It's been a tough 2 years. Especially for them. But there were good things, too. And they're moving forward, they're trying their best to make the most out of the situation. We did our best with the infection prevention measures. Temperature checks, spraying hands, spraying down everything else at the venue (chairs, light sticks, ...), sitting sorta socially distant (but not really but hey, we tried) and there's still the rule about no cheering or shouting - just clapping.

The live was great. It was a lot of fun and I really hope the boys will be successful. I'll try my best and do my part to support them as much as I can. They're supporting me, too. So it's more or less mutual.

Thank you BANQUET and thank you to all the lovely Cheers (BANQUET fans are called Cheers) for making today a great experience and a great memory. This positive energy will hopefully help me to survive for a while and get through the rest of the work week.