June 14th through 21st Sick and Tired in 2016

June 14th through 21st Sick and Tired
Tuesday afternoon, I went to the ear doctor who cleaned out my ear. It was not pleasant, but the result was worth it. It still doesn’t feel 100%. Mostly, I am wondering why it is that this keeps happening. It never happened before. After that, I went to Sendai and I got a chair. It took an insanely long time to choose one. However, with the cheapest chair running $200, it was not a decision I wanted to take lightly. My knees were killing the whole time. The chair I found that I liked best was around $500, but I settled for one that was a bit over $200. I also saw some other furniture that I’ll get next year. There was some confusion about my address which was needed to sign me up as a member at the store and to ship the chair to my house (they insist on shipping). This, of course, meant that while my knees were hurting most, I’d have to wait until Friday to get chair based relief. I went home and unsuccessfully attempted to get some decent sleep.
Wednesday I stayed home sick. The 15th wasn’t going to happen. Eyes were bad, stomach was bad, hadn’t slept. Some . . . measurable symptoms took over and I had a reasonable excuse to stay home. I ended up sleeping until after 4 PM, waking up primarily to have a lunch of a ton of cereal. I suspect that it may have been my recently cereal-based diet that got me sick. Kyoko’s hospital was closed when I arrived (at least not taking patients), as apparently Wednesday they just focus on their residents. However, when I texted her to ask where I could go, she came by to examine me. She lives next to her hospital and I was in the parking lot. I adore her. Well, I got a note from Kyoko, went home, and I have no memory of the night of the 14th. However, it’s safe to assume that I did not sleep well. I was a bit sad to miss class, as I love teaching, and as it was Tateishi’s day. However, it was still Miyanojo, so it wasn’t that sad. I see the kids a lot.
Thursday the 16th, however, was another matter. Still feeling sick, having not really slept on the 15th (FitBit declares 5 hours, 36min, with 6x awake and 21x restless), plus eye issues and just . . . death . . . I stayed home. This was tragic because I missed Eshin. Making it worse (which I didn’t know at the time) I was missing second and third graders at Eshin! Those kids are adorable. Well, nothing to be done. I went to Kyoko’s office and waited two full hours for an appointment. Needing to take medicine, being hungry, and just . . . being done, I went home. I ate lunch, took medicine, and wasted some time, then went back. However, it ended up being their lunch break. Because of course it was. However, Kyoko was back early, and, feeling guilty about my wait, examined me right away, gave me another note, and gave me a referral to the eye doctor who, sadly, had no time for me that day. I love Kyoko. After that, I went home. I believe that I played a lot of video games to stay awake in hopes of sleeping. These hopes were not realized.
I awoke on the 17th determined to go to class. I wasn’t feeling 100% and I was exhausted, but I hated staying home, and I hated missing my kids. I got to the BOE on time, only to find out that I was supposed to be at Eshin early that day. Whoops. So, I literally ran to class from the BOE. I got there about a minute late. It was first graders. Words cannot express how adorable these little kids were. I was mob hugged more times than I can count. A little girl, eager to impress, told me that she loved me. She got a sticker for that. Then everybody swarmed me, hugging me, and saying how much they loved me. Man, kids learn young. Recess was also fun. The younger kids keep kidnapping me, and the first graders, now less afraid, really enjoyed their time dominating me with their assistants, the second graders. They found a salamander and I impressed them by not being afraid of it. Man I love kids. I actually had to stop class a few times because I was laughing too hard to speak. Just . . . cute overload.
Of course on Friday night I couldn’t sleep. And, of course, I had to get up the next morning.
On Saturday the 18th, I woke up a bit early, but, I believe it was raining or something. Or maybe I was just too tired to walk pre game. Well, the game happened, but I had to leave early to go to Harmony practice. I saw Hashiguchi-san who had presents for me. Towel, soap, and fan from an onsen that he’d invited me to (but I hadn’t been able to get to) and sheet music for the Biwako boat song. Rehearsal went well, and, after that I talked to Obara Sensei a bit about what I’d be doing on Thursday for the show. Also I found out that there was Sunday morning practice. After rehearsal, I went to guitar, and, after that, I went to Sendai and got new guitar strings, a new music stand (old one is being used as an antennae for my Wi-Fi), a capo, and string lube. It was expensive, but I was hoping that maybe these things would allow me to use guitar to perform on Thursday instead of just ukulele. Then, I went home. What I did after that I have no idea. Probably computer? No clue. No distinct memories after that. Several times I went to Café Ueno (that’s the name, right?) to eat. It has vegetables, and I was craving them, but didn’t feel like cooking. I’d kill for a place with a decent salad. I showered Saturday night as I smelled terrible and didn’t want to shower on Sunday morning. 9 AM rehearsal.
I woke up on Sunday and went to the rehearsal. We only did one song. However, we met up with the kids who’d be singing with us. Super cute and sweet. Then . . . we took pictures for publicity. I really wish I had showered that morning. I didn’t smell, but man . . . my hair. Slightly worse than usual, and that’s saying something. We only did a tiny bit of practice (I think it was mostly for pictures/the kids) and, after that, I went home and played Civilization until I decided that I needed to do something, so I drove to Sendai and ate Indian food for lunch. So good. I talked to the owner more. His family is from Nepal. Thank goodness I read BBC obsessively. I was able to feign a better understanding of his country than I have, and, though he saw through it (I think), he appreciated the effort. Then . . . more civilization. I also played some guitar. A decent amount. The new strings and string lubricant actually made a big difference. However, while the extra light strings are easier to play . . . the sound isn’t as nice. Well, I’ll worry about that later.
Sunday night I slept even worse than normal as the rain which had started earlier turned into a giant thunderstorm. This is the start of the rainy season, it seems. My goodness . . . unpleasant.
Monday morning, I woke up without having had any real sleep to speak of and I actively considered calling off before I realized that there was just nothing to be done and sucked it up. Idiotically, I needn’t have bothered as I had no classes at Miyachu. Testing and all that. So, I walked the halls and read a lot. On Sunday night, I finished Madison and started Monroe. I actually read a sizeable portion of the biography and got tons of walking in. Eikaiwa was nice. We were in the arts-and-crafts room at the Bunka center. More of the ladies showed up (though Sam didn’t). One had been on a trip through Romania and Bulgaria. Must be nice. Kazumi gave me a birthday present to give to Sam, and also a pastry from Shiroyama for me. So good.
After that, I rushed to the bank, rushed home for my referral and a bill (I grabbed the wrong one) and then headed to the eye doctor. After a long and complex examination, they determined that nothing is wrong. It’s probably eyestrain and/or insomnia. Maybe allergies? Hooray. Things I don’t really have a lot of control over. I chatted up a student and her mum. I think maybe I became a bit more human. It was really sweet. Then, I went to Wai Wai and got dinner. I got their smaller set (mostly I wanted the salad, and, to a lesser extent, the soup). It was good. I wish I could have skipped dessert, but, there was no way to get a salad or soup without buying the pasta then buying the sides extra and getting way too much.
Then . . . I probably watched stuff online? I read a decent amount of James Monroe. I didn’t play guitar as I’d hoped that I would. Oh well. I need to do that tonight (the 21st) in spite of how exhausted I am.
I didn’t sleep well last night. Why would I have? When I woke up this morning, all I wanted to do was to sleep. To finally freaking sleep. This latest bout of insomnia is awful, and it just keeps getting worse. I don’t know what to do or how to deal with it. I’m really looking forward to my vacation. I have Tateishi today, but, due to testing, he’s only got 2 classes and one is a test. Not a lot to do today. Well, good exercise, I guess.
I’ve been neglecting Simona (and everybody else) lately. Stress, sickness, lack of sleep, and computer issues are colluding to keep me away from my social responsibilities. I don’t like that. I’m also disappointed that I didn’t write more about my adventures in the last week. I know that I forgot some things I meant to write about how wonderful Friday was. I’m sure I missed other details as well. It’s a good feeling to know that you periodically think to yourself, “I need to put that in my diary.” It’s also annoying when I don’t.
I’d meant to write yesterday, but my tablet refused to connect to its charger. Limits one’s options. Especially as it was about dead anyway. The thing is getting to be slow and buggy. I’d love a new tablet, but Windows 10 is the devil and I’m not sure that any other options are much better.
The humidity is difficult to describe. It’s pouring constantly and it’s warm. Then, the sun comes out just to evaporate more water before the rains resume about half an hour later. Then the storms come. I begged mum to send Excedrin weeks ago. She still hasn’t. I want to condemn her for it, but I’ve still got Simona’s birthday present sitting on my couch.
I keep having nightmares about avoiding Lauren Andree for not having sent her her letter. Or, written it for that matter. It’s a problem.
My apartment is an utter sty. I also have no real time to clean it, at present. Next week, I pray that I’ll be able to sleep just so I can get caught up on . . . life.
The biography that I read of James Madison was interesting. It did a lot to try to soften some rough corners on his life. I liked it, by and large, and it was well researched and informative. It’s interesting, as I read these biographies, how everybody’s take is so different. In the Washington and Adams biographies, Jefferson is a duplicitous schemer. In Jefferson, he’s a pragmatic idealist. In Madison, he’s a dreamer to be reined in. In Monroe, he’s an aloof well-done-son style dad. Then we get somebody like Madison. In Washington’s biography, Madison was something of a political Judas. In Jefferson, he was a scheming force moving Jefferson away from consensus to party. In Madison, he was a visionary who saw the future of the nation and its party system. In Monroe, he was an utter and abject failure; he was two faced, incompetent, unloved, and unworthy of anything better than the misery he got. It makes me want to read more. It also makes me wish that my reading retention were better than it used to be. I miss having people to talk to about things. I learn best, it seems, through cross reference and through understanding various viewpoints. I like when I read one thing, then hear another, than talk about something else. It’s the connections between these things that cement them in my mind. I’m not as good at just . . . reading and remembering as I used to be. Especially with names. That’s really a serious problem for me. I seem to have a mental block against them. Well, that’s what the biographies are for. I love getting these different perspectives. I really do wish I could just buy some textbooks or something for a more general view. Still, I’m hoping that maybe I’ll find more information that’ll link all of this. Maybe I’ll pause after Monroe and buy a book about the early founding period? The problem is, there are so many books on this subject that it’s hard to determine what’s worth reading and what isn’t.
Anyway, Monroe is interesting. He seduced his super sexy wife by lecturing her on history, literature, and politics all the time. Maybe there’s hope for me yet.
Along those lines, though, I have been thinking a lot about fatherhood and a family. It seems that I’m coming around on the idea of having kids. But marriage is still a seemingly insurmountable barrier. Well, that and the fact that I’d be a 21st century cuck of a man instead of an 18th/19th century paterfamilias patriarch. I do love kids, and the idea of raising them just seems to be something so indescribably beautiful. If I were rich, I’d want a family right away so that I could dedicate my life to educating them for excellence. Still, a wife terrifies me, as does any serious relationship. More than that, there’s no prospect of finding one around here. I keep taking solace in the stories I’m reading about men my age, and a bit older, marrying girls around the age I’d like to marry (don’t want the clock ticking too loudly, need time to settle). Then I remind myself that things have changed a lot in two hundred years. It’s sad, sometimes. I also am forced, more and more often, to realize how immature I really am. My existence as an English teacher has really coddled me and kept me out of actual adulthood more than most. I must find some way to remedy this. But how?
For Father’s Day, I e-mailed dad. Initially it was something of a copout because Skype wasn’t working well and I didn’t really feel like a forced call. However, I’m glad I did it. For the first time ever, I expressed to dad in fairly concrete terms just how amazing I think that he is. His response was evidently heartfelt, and I think I got through to him to the extent that anyone can. However, dad’s ability to express himself through writing is . . . not great. To be honest, I have no idea what his reply meant, but it still meant a lot to me. I’ll fill in the rest with wishful thinking. I do wish I could spend more time with him. I want to spend more time with the Ozments generally.
I’m realizing now, as I get older, the importance of family. As I live abroad, and as I lose people in my life, I’m reminded that there is some fundamental safety in people who are obligated to pretend to be excited to see you. There’s stability in that. I feel bad that I let mum keep me from appreciating dad’s family. I hope that, if I ever have kids, I never pull anything so short sighted and dumb.
Well, this has been a pretty good entry. It’s not all that I had hoped (I know that I forgot some) but I wrote on some topics I hadn’t planned on. There is often, when I write a lot and enjoy it, a sense that I can/should write more, but there’s also something of a need to stop typing and accomplish something else. I can probably finish the Monroe biography today, and I think that, if it’s possible, I should. I also think that I need to get my walking in at school as there’s no way in hell that I’m going to walk in this weather.
I forgot!
The Sendai River is beautiful! It’s a gigantic brown torrent! It’s risen above the second layer of the walk way (just barely). I’m wondering if I’ll see it get to the third. We may end up with a flood if it keeps going like this for three more days. I don’t want a flood, but I do want to see some of the anti-flood measures in action. Miyachu sits on the edge of . . . essentially a cliff, and beneath that cliff a peninsula juts into a sharp bend in the river. An anti-flood measure is to let the river cross a part of the peninsula and make an island between the outside and Miyachu. I think it would be fascinating to see that.
Well, everything hurts, I need to exercise, and perhaps I’ve written enough, or too much, already.
Goodnight.