And do good business, too!
Fairly hectic day today. Started out at 0630 when I woke up with a minor headache. Normally, not a big deal, but today, I had my reading comprehension DLPT. This is my annual Korean test and based on my scores, I get paid up to $2400 extra a year. Reading is my strong suit, though, so I wasn't too worried. If you're a long time reader, or just a back page digger, you'll know that I scored a perfect score on the reading test last year.
I took a different new form this year (there are currently three new Korean forms). I have now taken every form of the Korean DLPT from forms III C and D up through form IV E, with the single exception of form D (I have taken the non-validated form IV D with 90 questions, though). Not much of that makes much sense if you're not a military linguist, but trust me, it does make some sense to some people.
When I got done with the test, I headed back to my office for a much needed cup of coffee. I had brewed a pot before the test, but was kept busy with a steady stream of instructors and students with questions, so I didn't get to drink the first cup I poured before I left for the test. As soon as I came into the hallway, I was cornered by one of the instructors with some vague story of wanting to do something for the students and needing support for it. It took her nearly 20 minutes to get to the point where I figured out exactly what she was asking of me. During her explanation about how important and beneficial this event would be to the students, she kept tossing out jibes at the other faculty members, all the way up through her department chairperson to the school dean, and how they only pay lip service to getting the best oppurtunities to the students. She also peppered her pitch with numerous disclaimers about how she wasn't doing this to garner credit, accolades, or praise for herself. This was strictly for the benefit of the students! I kindly didn't tell her that I couldn't care less about her thoughts on her coworkers and patiently listened to her story. I then promptly passed the buck and told her that she should speak to the Chief MLI because as a regular MLI, I don't have the power to authorize the funds to get her a bus for a Saturday event. I don't even have the power to get a bus for a school day field trip, let alone a Saturday event!
I then visited the Chief MLI to gleefully tell him that I had passed him a buck and he should look forward to losing 20 minutes of his life to hearing the same drawn out story before finding out exactly what the important part was. HAHA! Take that, boss!
My visit to the Chief MLI was two-fold, though. I also had to get a completed packet on one of my students requesting disenrollment for Lack of Effort so I could deliver it to the unit for their final decision. I've never hand delivered one of these packets and I don't really like the idea of being eager to drop a student, but this will hopefully be the only exception I ever have to make. This student needs to be out of class. We've tried everything we could think of to help this guy and he still is a problem in class. The unit has tried very hard to get him the help he needs and keep him in class, too, but it isn't really helping. He's been in class less than eight weeks and has received at least 19 formal written counselings. They range from failure to do homework to sleeping in class and include some behavior that is even worse and some that is downright disturbing. The unit has already told us that they will pull him from class and just need the completed packet to make it happen. Hopefully, they'll be able to get this student the help he obviously needs.
I got back from the unit and thought I'd finally have the chance to sit and drink that cup of coffee... but no! One of the teaching team leaders came to my office and asked if I was ready to go. I had completely fogotten (and lost track of the time) that we were having a team lunch today. Whenever he have unit tests, the team will usually go out to lunch together. Today we went to a Vietnamese noodles restaurant and this brings me to the title of my post.
The name of the restaurant was Pho'King. I found this very funny for two reasons. One, the obvious problems you could have with a simple mispronounciation (Hey, let's go to tat Pho'King restaurant!) The second was the similarity of the logo and the name to Burger King. I think the Pho is the word for the noodle soup and King, is for, well, King. Kind of like Burger King (their logo is very similar to the BK logo with the word Pho on top of the word King, sandwhiched between a crown and a bowl of noodles - I wasn't the only one to notice the similarities to the BK sign right across the street). I summoned all my linguistic analysis powers to study the menu to help me come to this conclusion.
We got back a little late from lunch and I immediately had to go to the lab for a class. I spent the entire hour lecturing about the North Korean Air Force, Navy, and Reserve Forces. I also briefed the NK nuclear situation and history.
When I got back to my office, I finally got my first cup of coffee (non-beefy, of course) for the day at 1345. I've since been checking homework and sipping on it. I just got a few spare moments and decided to write this up before the class break, when I'll need to track students down and give them back their checked homework.
What a day!
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