I hate this week at school. I hate it even more without the benefit of heat or hot water in my house. I am talking about the week of school, about three in, when the first round of grippe hits me. The kids breathe and cough and sneeze and occasionally puke in school, and then I get sick. Meanwhile, grades need to be posted, data from last spring and the early school year needs to be calculated and interpreted, administrative meetings start, plus it is Back to School Night this week.By the time Friday rolls around, I am teaching on auto-pilot. Already this week I have dozed off at my desk. Well, it isn't actually dozing off because I am aware of where I am and I am cognitive that my eyes are open, but I have those few seconds of a floating sensation when I know that my eyes have glazed over. I could be speaking in tongues at this point.
Of course, if I had hot water, I'd take a nice long shower as soon as I get home, but I have no hot water and probably won't for at least another six or seven weeks. If I believe the gas experts who do not control the politics in this state, I could actually be looking at half a year or more. The politicians at the local, county, and state level are shitting royal-sized bricks knowing that their promise to reconnect appliances to working gas will not make it in time to save their political careers come election time in one month.
It is no surprise to me at all when I sit down for a moment then gently place my face down on the kitchen table and fall into a dead sleep instantaneously. I wake up after about four minutes, but those four minutes of sleep are thorough and profound; I definitely hit a REM cycle.I'm tired. I'm tired from a week of professional juggling, I'm tired from the dog and pony show I perform at this time every year (I love the parents, but I suck at this performance art stuff), I'm tired of washing dishes, hands, and myself in ice cold water, and I am tired of going from hot to cold to hot to cold with the weather both inside and outside of my house.
I do, however, make myself a microwave brownie during the midst of all this because I feel that I've really earned it this week. Well, THAT plus I'm a chocolate fiend, and if anyone has earned it this week, it would be me.
