Grrrr

Insect count: 0 (mmm)! Today was a LONG day. It wasn't a bad day, but it was definitely very long. After I got in bed last night, Limor called. However, shortest conversation we've had on the phone yet: 40 minutes! It still ate into my sleep time though. However, I got more sleep last night than any other night in the past week or so. I woke up shortly after sunrise (as usual) at 4:30, and I swear I had JUST turned over and my alarm went off. *sigh* My first thought was, "Why is my alarm going off at 4:30!?" But it was 6:30 already. I got ready and grabbed my guitar. (I had been telling myself all morning not to forget it.) Well, there was only one student at the bus stop and he wasn't wearing his uniform. That was really strange but I shrugged it off thinking he might change at school. However, when we pulled up to the school... it was a ghost town! No students, quiet in the halls... that's when I started to hear the Twilight Zone music in my head. Because there were no students to lock out, the teacher's room was open during the meeting. It had just started so I grabbed a seat on the edge. I understood two words from the meeting! "Nakereba narimasen." They mean "must." So whatever verb proceeded them, that's what we must do. :D It's something.

After the side meetings were over I was told our school was going to the baseball team's game today. I got pretty excited til I found out "we" did not include me. :( So I had LOTS of prep time. I had planned on doing some, but I also was scheduled to teach several lessons. That coupled with my guitar meant that I hadn't brought my computer. Grrr! After 2-3 hours I was done with the prep I could do and needed my computer to finish the rest. Thus started the longest school day yet. I was hoping since all the teachers were leaving early to the game I would be allowed to go home early. Nope. I got to play the magnet game all afternoon. I was so exhausted and it was 29° today with humidity going up and down between 50-67%. (It was hot but I did ok - it just made me more worn out/tired/sleepy.) We had another morning meeting in which, again, I understood two words: "Ototoi," and "Asatte." (the day before yesterday, the day after tomorrow) No idea what about them, but ya. Oh! And I was told that if we won the game today there was another baseball game on Thursday. So I became incredibly torn. I wanted the students to win, but I also didn't want to miss another teaching day. In any case, it was sort of a tortuous day just because of my fatigue and lack of things to do. It got to the point that I pulled out my sudoku book. I just couldn't stay awake any longer. Unfortunately, focusing on that didn't help. I got about 10 minutes in and I just couldn't think anymore or keep my eyes open. So I got up and took a short walk. Then I went back and tried again. Then I went and practiced my taiko steps in the lady teacher's locker room, then in the hall. Then I went back to my desk. Finally I put in an earpiece and put my music on low. I was DESPERATE. I got to the point where I thought, "Whatever it takes to stay awake." To me falling asleep at my desk was a greater evil than doing sudoku while listening to music. Plus what could I do!? I got to help Nakata-sensei when I saw her working on something, but when that was done... grr.

In any case, I helped with the clean up. In fact, it was Sato-sensei, Nakata-sensei, and I who cleaned the teacher's room. :) Oh! I forgot to mention ~ the way I found out I would not be able to go to the game. Kanamori-s approached me with a very grave face and told me she had bad news. I was instantly panicked, "You have to stay here." Also I heard Kazuki(Oikawa-s)-s, Sato-s, and Hashimoto-s all say my name. I looked up and over at them each time, but no one addressed me. :/ Wish I knew what they had said about me. Anyway, at some point after cleaning Sato-s said something and Nakata-s responded and he turned on the tv. The student's game was on! AWESOME! I pulled my chair over near his desk, grabbed my fan, and settled in. We'd missed the first two innings (0-1, 0-0) then we got to see the next three innings (0-0, 0-0, 0-0). So when the station stopped broadcasting the game, we were down (1-0). We were all disappointed that the game was no longer being shown and I went back to my desk for the last hour and forty-five minutes. I kept myself busy, and when it was time to go, I said goodbye to Sato-s who informed me we won. I said, "We won! Yay!" And then in my head, "Oh nooooes! Thursday...." Still, I'm really excited for my students. They really take sports very seriously at MM. ~I also learned a new phrase from Sato-s today. He asked me during cleaning time if I had wanted to go to the game. I said, "Yes, but I didn't have a way to get there... kuruma ga arimasen." He then taught me a new phrase, "Ashi ga nai." It took him saying it three times and pointing to his legs for it to click for me. Then there was much victory in my head, "I KNOW that kanji and I know what he means!" So my first Japanese idiom. (The direct translation would be "I have no legs" but it means "I have no way to get there.")

One funny thing from today, well funny to me. As I was bored out of my mind (and before I started playing a game) I noticed what looked like a little blood blister on my arm. I thought, "Let's find out!" I picked at it and sure enough, it bled! Then I reflected on my actions, "What if a teacher has been watching you this whole time. You pick at a spot at your arm and it bleeds and then you're proud of yourself!?" It must have looked funny and I'm going to blame it on lack of sleep on top of exhaustion. I've been battling a staggering migraine all day too that I believe is tied directly to this exhaustion. When I got home, (bus ride was fine - but my skull was trying to split and I was super nauseous) I turned on the dehumidifier for a little bit and sat in front of the fan. I had dinner and some popcorn and some dark chocolate. I was hoping it would make me feel better (I WAS really hungry when I got home), but now I'm just more nauseous. Sheesh. I'm going to go to bed early tonight. I NEED it and I think my body is finally crying uncle. Hope you all had a wonderful day! XOXO, A (PS I DO feel blessed about today though. Being around people kept me from getting down. :) So yay for that!)