Spare Parts
The last week has been slow and sluggish mainly because I have been slow and sluggish. Here’s the quick and dirty update because I really would rather be sitting in a hot bath right now listening to some slow Chopin piano or drowning in covers reading something by Bukowski.
Get Down With The Sickness (Reprise):
Ohhhh, I thought I was done with being sick here. There was a time when every other month I was pit up against some virus. It was like I was contractually obliged, or something. Then, sometime around mid-August, I was fine. September and October and November all came and went with not a single sniffle or cough. Ah, I should have enjoyed it while I had it. This week I started feeling a little tickle in the back of my throat which only signifies an impending infection. It would come two days later and now my students get to giggle at the frog that once was their teacher. With the settling in of the colder weather I have spent my mornings waking up shivering as pieces of me are exposed to the frigid air by a night of tossing and turning. Although I like to fork over the blame to the plague carrying students, I have to say that this cold has been caused by Japan’s lack of insolated homes and central heating. The apartment becomes an icebox at night and there is only so much my little heater can do. I have actually had to carry the thing around with me from room to room to maintain the heat. I don’t like to keep it plugged in overnight so I just wear as much clothing as possible and bundle but come morning the room is cold enough to house a small, Antarctic Eco-system. People are all up in arms about Global Warming. Right now I am a strong opponent against Global Colding! I hope this cold exits before my block of holidays come up next weekend. Who wants to spend Christmas alone AND sick?
Pack it up/Pack it in:
I mentioned this last time in passing but I did a practice run with my packing. The suitcase, which had been sitting in the back of the closet since February, got yanked out and stuffed like a turkey (have I mentioned how much I missed Thanksgiving diner?) and when it was all over, the stomping, the zipping, the jumping and the sitting, cramming and pushing, I still had a large pile of clothes left on the floor. I stood studying my baggage wondering if there was any possible way to get this stuff in there. It didn’t look good. Do you ever wish you were able to pick up the phone an call an EISNTEIN HOTLINE to ask complicated questions to the experts? I unloaded and tried again this time removing what was the bulk of the backed items. A few gifts that I have were in these great wooden boxes with burned in Japanese text. The Japanese have a tendency to over-package things and though these boxes were not really needed for the items inside they made a nice all around present. But the boxes would have to go to make room for things like, ohhhh, shirts and underwear. Next came the choice over which clothes would return with me to Canada and what would have to stay. The ripped pants were easy to omit right away but what about that sweater? The hole could be sewn up, right? And then the toughest choice of all. Don’t tell them I told you but the shoes, the travel shoes, well…and it chokes me up to type it…they may have made their final journey. There is a hole in the back of them now that cannot be fixed and an unfixable hole in a pair of sneakers is like a bad leg to a race horse. After a second go ‘round I am fairly sure I will be able to get everything back home again with a few omissions due to a year of wear and tear. I just hope my baggage allowance allots for two carry-ons. Maybe I could stuff my coat and claim that I’m John Goodman.
