Student "edition" found at {thoughts dot com slash typed no space out no space loud slash blog}.

Maybe I shouldn't have started this blog now, not with everything that's been going on.

Some things that have been relegated to the background because of the events of the past few days:

It's the curse of the last retreat of the school year again. Last year's February schedule, which was the absolutely final chance that students had to have their clearance signed by the mission office if they wanted to march in April (unintentional pun there) was peopled by those who had been putting it off all this time.

Thus these weren't really those who valued the reflection time, but felt forced.

So given the early session times given, as well as the opportunities provided by staying together with all of their slacker friends until early morning, they didn't feel inclined to get up early in the morning and participate.

This led to a facilitator walk out, detailed in one of the entries of that month last year.

Not surprisingly one of those involved is part of continuing shameful local headlines.

Now it's the same, perpetrated, of all people, by the one who happens to have the highest grade point average among this year's graduates, who brought liquor.

What made it worse was that they had already been given chances by the head of the mission office to cut it out by telling them to go to bed early, as well as the mistaken assumption of the liaison to the sisters that the laid back manner of one of those involved actually meant they were already drunk during the orientation on the first evening. Obviously I'm talking about alcohol consumption during the retreat, egged on by claims of previous batches.

They kept saying sorry, but it wasn't enough. They were asked for written apologies, hopefully including all their fallacious arguments like "the other batches did it", "we were discreet" (which isn't true, because they were found out) and "we have so little time together now" (if they can't schedule a night out on the town where drinking is perfectly legal, what kind of friends are these, really?)

So in fact the advantage of having them all in one dorm room is that there would only be one surprise inspection instead of on several cottages like before.

And I won't be surprised if there are baggage checks before the next batch.

Session 2595 sees a disturbing trend. Class dismissed.