of teachers' desks

today i had the opportunity to help mr tan yang move his stuff, since the school wanted all the teachers to move to refurbished rooms, thereby creating segregation, eg all the chinese teachers together in one room etc. (if i were someone else i would say "...and they would be hatching all kinds of evil plots to fail students' chinese tests" but i'm not. so i won't say "...and they would be hatching all kinds of evil plots to fail students' chinese tests". so there.)

depending on how one looks at it, it was either a privilege or back-breaking work.

how do i put it.

you know, most teachers have incredibly messy tables? (of course, a particular math teacher comes to mind as an exception, i'm not mentioning names) but, in spite of the huge mass of mess, they still have enough space to mark our assignments, place their computers, as well as have a gazillion files and folders (not in computers) on their desk, and teachers' day cards, and not forgetting the almost infinite number of photographs they take with their smiling students (i said smiling not happy). either a teacher's desk is really humongous, or they just have many many hidden compartments to hide their stuff. (i've used the words gazillion and infinite, so i can't think of any other descriptive word, not hyperbole). after helping mr tan today, the latter explanation is the more feasible one. especially when you consider the size of the staff room divided by the number of teachers after subtracting the walking space, staff lounge and pigeonholes photocopying machines. oops i've blurted out too much. i've violated the code of "students who enter staff room" rule no. 1: you're not even supposed to be allowed into the staff room. sorry.
i will not leak out secrets of the staff room.
i will not leak out secrets of the staff room.
i will not leak out secrets of the staff room.
i will not leak out secrets of the staff room.
i will not leak out secrets of the staff room.
i will not leak out secrets of the staff room.
i will not leak out secrets of the staff room.
i will not leak out secrets of the staff room.
i will not leak out secrets of the staff room.
i will not leak out secrets of the staff room.

there. i've written out 10 lines. yes that's right, i used pen and paper.

so anyway, i caught a glimpse of the numerous hiding places teachers have in that little space called their desk. don't let that simple table, chair and cupboard fool you, there are at least like 20 hiding places they have in there.

first, under the table. you know the little area where teachers sit down, the leg area? today i found out that you can shove at least 2 racks (as in book racks) in there, and have 3 compartments in there! i saw mr tan remove 1 rack after the other, and still there were like 10 ring files in there. so that'd be at least 30 ring files in total. and they still have space to rest their feet!

second, underneath that thin piece of glass on their table. it may not look like much, but don't let it fool you. they can shove at least 5 layers of paper underneath it, and still have room to put their photos with ex-students! hmm. maybe the tabletop isn't as thick as it looks. maybe there's a depression in there, custom-made for teachers.

third, beneath the 3 drawers at the side of the desk. turns out you can actually put like at least 3 cardboard boxes, and everything still looks normal! and in those cardboard boxes there are items ranging from multi-plug, to cushions, to dictionaries, to leaflets from the ministry, to yellow worksheets, and i don't mean those printed on yellow paper. i mean the yellow-ing of white paper. oh and i almost forgot the dust.

ok if a teacher were to stumble upon this blog he/she would probably first find out who i am, then make me write lines. as such i have already taken the initiative to write 10 lines for every point of discovery i uncovered. since i mentioned 3, that'd make 30 lines.

i will not leak out the secrets of the teacher's desk.
i will not leak out the secrets of the teacher's desk.
i will not leak out the secrets of the teacher's desk.
i will not leak out the secrets of the teacher's desk.
i will not leak out the secrets of the teacher's desk.
i will not leak out the secrets of the teacher's desk.
i will not leak out the secrets of the teacher's desk.
i will not leak out the secrets of the teacher's desk.
i will not leak out the secrets of the teacher's desk.
i will not leak out the secrets of the teacher's desk.

i will not leak out the secrets of the teacher's desk.
i will not leak out the secrets of the teacher's desk.
i will not leak out the secrets of the teacher's desk.
i will not leak out the secrets of the teacher's desk.
i will not leak out the secrets of the teacher's desk.
i will not leak out the secrets of the teacher's desk.
i will not leak out the secrets of the teacher's desk.
i will not leak out the secrets of the teacher's desk.
i will not leak out the secrets of the teacher's desk.
i will not leak out the secrets of the teacher's desk.

i will not leak out the secrets of the teacher's desk.
i will not leak out the secrets of the teacher's desk.
i will not leak out the secrets of the teacher's desk.
i will not leak out the secrets of the teacher's desk.
i will not leak out the secrets of the teacher's desk.
i will not leak out the secrets of the teacher's desk.
i will not leak out the secrets of the teacher's desk.
i will not leak out the secrets of the teacher's desk.
i will not leak out the secrets of the teacher's desk.
i will not leak out the secrets of the teacher's desk.

ok i carried out my punishment already. please don't punish me, detention room got no broadband!