38.4C (101.12F)

Yep that's me. Fever Lady.

I started feeling strange Monday, and it's progressed to full on sick. Again.

I think with the New Year, I'm going to implement some new guidelines in class. No borrowing my pencils or erasers. No touching anything of mine. If a kid who's hacking and sneezing it up is sitting beside me, he or she will switch spots with a healthy child at the other end of the room. The Korean teachers seem to almost NEVER get sick. I'm wondering if it's down to accumulated antibodies ( or, rather, my lack thereof.)

Today was tough because my nose dripped like a faucet, I sneezed 187 times, and alternated boiling hot and shaking cold. With it being the last day before winter break, and me feeling like I was, today was all about the games. I even broke out the verbotten UNO for the last class. They played, while I considered plucking my left eye out and digging around in my head with a toothbrush. I've got that "going to sneeze" feeling in my forehead. It's maddening.

I bought a bar of handsoap for the washroom, as the last bar wore out a month or so ago, and I was told I've been washing my hands with laundry soap. I have to say though, after visiting the non-heated open-window see-your-breath-bathroom, plunging your hands into the ice cold tap water is VERY unpleasant. Also there are no towels to dry or warm your hands on. It's no wonder I've never seen anyone wash their hands after a visit to the loo. No wonder I'm sick. Everyone's all germy.

Today was pretty much crap. Mamadog's in heat, and I felt bad for Barky Boyfriend trying (and failing) to defend her honour against 3 other whining growling dogs who have shown up to have their way with her. Poor little dog.

As I was leaving my apartment, carrying garbage bags down to the parking lot, a woman cleaning the stairs got all excited, pointing to the bags. I figured she was scolding my for using blue bags when yellow ones are somehow more preferable. An old man (stair-lady's husband?) lectured me for a long time last week as I was going to throw out my trash. I asked my boss to call the management office and see what the deal was, but she didn't. I apologized to stair-lady and said I couldn't understand her. Once I got downstairs I realized the bag had ripped and was leaking a trail of cat litter. It was clean, and lemon scented litter, but I still felt like crap, and didn't have enough time to get back upstairs with a broom without being late for work.

I was praying that my mom's package, with cold remedies and underwear, would arrive today. I could really use it, and even though she mailed it airmail for about 50 bucks 3 weeks ago, it's opseyo.

I noticed the students have mangled and destroyed many of the ornaments I bought for the Christmas tree in the lobby. When I showed the other teachers, I scolded them too, "Don't laugh! It's not funny!"

I've never complained about this before, but since I'm on a roll....Koreans are LOUD! Especially down in my neck of the woods. I've been told even by the residents'' own admission, that the local dialect is very strong, and very loud. (Seoulites sometimes have a hard time understanding folks down here! I suppose it's like Newfoundlanders to the rest of Canada.) Hangul here is peppered with that 'kkhhhaaaaa,' kind of sound (like you're clearing your throat or Arabic) when people want to emphasize what they're complaining about. I say complaining, because it sounds like everyone is. All. The. Time. Something about the up and down prolonging of the last syllable in many sentences. If you didn't know better, you might assume that all the people here are arguing with each other much of the time. Usually it's tolerable, and I've gotten pretty used to it. Today it was torturing me, though, and only my inner-voice pleading "shitupshutupshutupshutup," helped to drown it out. There was no respite leaving the classroom for the staffroom. Everyone was excited about the days off.

My trip to Japan has been re-scheduled for Friday. I have so much to do, cleaning and packing and wrapping some gifts, and I can't muster the energy to get it all done tonight. With a big-ass sleep tonight, and a couple short naps tomorrow in-between chores, I hope I'll feel much better by Friday.

So, like, for those of you planning to stop by and burgle me, hold off 'til Friday.

Because I like the yin and the yang, let me end off telling you I carted home over 60 lbs. of kitty litter, dumped out the lemon scented stuff, washed, dried and refilled the box, and Kamikaze's been happily visiting it since. I'm relieved. Also, I actually found BOLOGNA yesterday when I exchanged my boss's kid's Christmas gift!

Finally, my video store finally got "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" in, and reserved it for me. I watched it while eating a toasted bologna, cheese, mustard and lettuce sandwich last night. Love love loved it. Just for kicks, I might do the same thing tonight (I forgot the video in the VCR, so I still have it!)