Tying Off

Today has yielded a lot of photographs. Somehow, circumstances just arranged themselves into compelling patterns that simply demanded to be recorded. Some pictures, then, to go along with the previous post:

One last shot of the sunrise over the verdant skyline from the hill on which the school stands. I probably won't be coming across vistas like this very often anymore.

The school tower. As you must have noticed by now, I have a penchant to photograph towers. There is something inherently noble in the audacity to build upwards. From the cathedral spires and pagodas of previous ages, to the sleek skyscrapers sprouting downtown today, looking up at tall buildings has been an enduring pastime for me. And now that I work in the CBD, I do spend a lot of time staring upwards like a fool.

One last view of the cubicle I happily found myself borrowing. This was right in the midst of the final cleanup. Rest assured that I left the place in better shape than this. And it really does strike me: how easily I can efface any evidence of my previous presence from this place. Such an effacement is as it should be; but it is telling, how little of a physical impact you leave behind, even after months of working in one place. Material traces are perishable; one hopes that immaterial traces are more indelible.

And finally, one last look on my way out. So this definitively marks the end of my sixteen-week teaching stint. I brought with me as many artifacts as I could; incidental things that no one will miss, that have been charged with the responsibility of embodying my memories. When so much is lost, even the smallest and faintest remaining traces become significant, and are forced to bear the full load of a sentimentality that sprang from a much wider system of physical and mental structures.

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Unfortunately, I could not find an opportunity to get a photograph of my Sec 3 class. Perhaps a kind soul would indulge me and snap a picture next term? Anyway, since there have been no violent objections to the posting of their pictures online, I shall break from my previous policy of posting no people's photos in this journal. Just this once. And so, the first identifiable faces to appear in this journal:

These are the people whom I have had the privilege to teach.