Disease

I try so hard to ignore that I have lupus. But at this moment it's impossible. I want to scream, yell, and cut my feet and hands off at the hands and ankles to stop the swelling, burning, rolling overly sensitive tingling like sensations. Plus- I'm stumbling all over the place and keyboarding like a well trained chimpanzee.

I forgot to bring what ibuprofen I left home from my office, so stupid- these sensations are always worse when I have my period. In the past couple of months I've developed a delightful new symptom of a rash that appears as a light bumpy rash- itchy of course- all over my body.

I went to sleep at 12:30 but woke up at 2am because to the burning tingling in my feet and hands- it's so uncomfortable. Excruciating. This symptom I've actually experienced since I was a kid but it' so much more extreme now. So, now I'm awake, totally exhausted, rubbed campo phenique and hydro-cortisone over all my extremities, and have slammed 3 glasses of wine in 20 minutes. Starting to feel slightly better- I think mostly due to the booze.

Also, I finally, after a year and half, went and talked to doctors here in Korea. Unfortunately, they are in firm agreement with my American doctor that I do, indeed, have lupus. Silver lining- I joined several online support groups and I'm reading about a bunch of people with the exact symptoms I experience. Comforting in a misery loves company kind of way. Plus some good advice on coping. None of which includes the wine I'm slamming, most of which says to take anti inflammatories. Which I left at work. So wine it is. Along with the hope that it starts to let up by tomorrow because there is no way I'm strapping on skates when I'm this stumbly, fumbly.

Oh ye weary freshmen

Completely not going to win the blogger of the year award.

I'm really tired today. Not sure why- I've had plenty of sleep, food, exercise, and whatnot- but I can't stop yawning. Maybe it's the excitement of the cracking, booming thunderstorm that knocked out the power for a few seconds and then turned into monsoon like rainfall earlier today. Maybe it's having to force myself to pay attention during 170 city reports. On countries. Or Manchester United. I'm even yawning through my 'This is worth 10% of your grade, I am not happy so many of you did not complete it' lecture.

The kids are just worn out. Spring semester, March 1- June 15, is the first semester of the school year as opposed to fall semester. This the first time most of them have had to be on their own and definitely the first time they have been away from the watchful eyes of their parents. The university has a ton of events, all of which involve heavy drinking, to welcome them to campus life, each freshman has a senior- who also encourages heavy drinking, and their new friends- who also want to drink. Unfortunately for them- they also have a full load of college classes and I think the hammer has come down on most of them. Even through my yawns I think I managed to convey how much they were risking from slacking off and started to look nervous.

Gone are the bright eyed, sparkly, excited faces from 3 months ago. They been replaced by dazed zombies. 'What's wrong with you?', I asked a class who responded to 'How are you?' with 'Very very bad'. A moment of silence and then a girl responded with a quiet wail- 'College is HARD'. Yep. Welcome to the almost real world kids. Just wait until finals next week.

What did I do this last week? Hmmm.
Prepared the finals and studied for them with all 7 sections of conversational English, reviewed what they needed to do for their homework presentation (college is hard). Had ladies night with pina coladas, wine, and some of my neighbor ladies and then went to a bar called Kaokao in Okdong, which I keep wanting to call Kakao like the free text app everyone uses here, and got just drunk enough to be hungover for the 10:30am elementary, middle school physical education class we are now taking turns doing on Saturdays. It was fine- lessons plans got tossed and we sang the Hokey Pokey and played Duck Duck Goose and got yelled at by the people running the huge ceremony for, something, in the next room (who's bright idea was it to put 30 9 yr kids next to a ceremony? I do not know). Saturday I stayed home, cooked, organized derby stuff. Sunday I went to derby practice in Daegu and came home and got a couch from my friend Ian, who got it from our friend Scott (expat community of rotating possessions). Monday night I rearranged my apt so the coach would fit and last night I went out for Chinese with my Korean dr and pharmaceutical rep friends . Delicious! Wish I had taken pictures- first really good Chinese I've had in Korea. 'Set' meal with about 10 courses and we drank Chinese whiskey, Baijiu, not for the timid. Really good time. Tonight I need to call derby girls but I'm le tired and might just watch le tv and do le laundry and put the l'art back up on my walls from the le furniture rearrangement.