Warning: Hazardous!

This is absolutely crazy. I was in the car & I had this random thought - occupational hazard. I've noticed that I've become more observant or critical of things.

1. Church I notice that it somehow becomes second nature to scan/spot mistakes in song lyrics when they are projected on the screen, like spelling & punctuation. The bulletein is also another place where the teacher in me comes alive when I somehow (not that I want to!) 'naturally' spot grammar mistakes.

I'm not being critical of the people behind it but somehow, it does irk me to see minor mistakes. A perfectionist I am not & neither do I love marking/correcting mistakes in students' work but eeeekss...I'm supposed to be concentrating on worshipping God & listening to the sermon, not mark!

2. Public places
(i) In places such as McDonalds, I get irritated by noisy kids (mostly teenagers, basically). When these kids start running around, talking real loudly, I sometimes feel like going "Can you all please keep quiet & show some respect for yourselves & the people around you?" Quite some time back, I was in a McDonalds chillin' with a friend (who's also teaching) when suddenly, what seemed like an entire class of students stepped in. They threw their belongings all over the tables & chairs & made the most noise on the planet. Both of us were SOOO tempted to stand up to tell these kids to shut up ("Can't you all just be quiet? You're wearing your uniform in a public place & misbehaving yourselves. Shame on you!")

(ii) When I see kids in uniforms that are a mess, such as untucked shirts/blouses, dirty, rotten shoes, messy hair, too-short skirts, I feel like going up to them & say "Please tidy up your uniform & your hair."

Another thing I also notice myself doing is giving looks to girls with too short & spikey hair. Not that I'm into them but being a teacher in a girls' school, one of the things I have to look into is the length of hair & making sure that they aren't horribly short. So yes, when I'm in town & when I see such girls, regardless of them in their uniform or not, I will give that look that seems to say "Why is your hair so short? I think you might need a wig."

3. Family/friends This is so scary! I find myself nagging at my own cousins to do their homework, revision, etc. I even found myself nagging at my cousin to remember to bring in his identification & exam entry proof for the exam. My cousin, at that point, said this "Stop working!"

You see!! It's an occupational hazard, I tell you. That's why, as far as possible, I want to avoid seeing students when I'm out lest I start working when I ought to be relaxing & having fun. Please, just tell me that I'm not going mad.