Prison Guard

I didn't get my samgyetang. When I hadn't heard from my dinner mates this morning, I was thinking perhaps they forgot, even though we just made plans for tonight's dinner 2 days ago. I was right, and got a call at school a couple hours before we were supposed to meet. They had forgotten. Oh, well. I said we'd do it sometime next week. I mentioned wanting samgyetang, and they mentioned kalbitang, so we're going to have to wrestle it out. I will win.

Just as the 2nd to last class was starting today, something unusual happened. All the power went out. It wasn't a blackout, as lights in every other part of the building and out on the street and in neighbouring stores were functioning. We had blown a fuse.

No wonder, too, as the heat was on all day, as well as 5 portable radiators in each classroom, the staffroom, and the lobby. I kept asking my co-workers if they were trying to kill me. Everywhere I went all day I was turning off heaters and shutting vents blowing hot air from the ceiling. It wasn't even that COLD outside today, and still, even with the heat swirling around the school, the Korean teachers wore their woolen shawls and winter coats. If I didn't know better, I'd think I was working with 3 versions of my grandmother.

So, with the lights out, the kids whooped it up, and the teachers had to run around gathering them back into the fold of the classroom and the safety of their seats every time they'd escape. Jailbreak. Just for interests sake, I might count the number of times I say "sit down, please" in one day. I think we'd all be amazed. In the dark, I was all about the "SIIIDDOWN!!"

Finally, after about 20 minutes, the kids got to go home. My boss, 2 folks who own the Music School, and the Taekwondo Master couldn't figure out how to restore power. A handful of students stayed behind to wait for our school's bus to shuttle them across town and meanwhile the boss's husband showed up and sorted out the lights in about 2 minutes flat. He is quite the handy man, and has fixed quite a few things over the 4 days he's been in town. It's good to have him back, though I understand he'll be setting off again sometime next week until well into the new year. Finally, the last class of the day started, though I didn't have to stay. Thursday is the one day I get off a little early. I headed downtown to do a little shopping and came home to make up a nice curry (korma) for dinner.

I'm going to try to brainstorm for something other than a boring daily run-down over the weekend. Weekends ROCK.