08 May 2007

sniffling

Don't you hate having a cold? There is something about being oxygen deprived (cause you know the O2 isn't getting through all that gunk) and sleep deprived (because every time you moved the slightest bit you had to wait for your sinuses to equalize so that you could breathe in little, shallow breaths. Sleeping sitting up helps you breathe but doesn't help you SLEEP. And, all the tension about not getting any sleep just makes it worse.) and a little queasy from all the drainage (ew. nasty.) but still being expected to function--including not only teaching (which is actually the easy part) but also having scheduled and unscheduled parental conferences AND a formal evaluation from your brand-spanking-new principal)--that makes me feel rotten.

And it makes me miss all sorts of homely things. I miss...

General Hospital. Really, truly I do. I admit freely that I watch--and have since I had chicken pox in fifth grade. Aside from the time when Holly Scorpio left the show and I switched to Days, this is the longest I've been away from Port Charles. I like the escape and the connection to my friends-who-shall-remain-nameless who also watch. I just found out Nik and Emily got back together. Sigh. I was hoping for that, and yet...I with they'd waited until I was home.

TV in general. I've been watching a taped tv show and the commercials are all about shows I've never heard of--except CSI.

TJ Maxx. I love that store. I need some shoes and bits and bobs but I won't buy them here. They're too expensive and cheaply made.

Chili's and Mexican food and that good Chinese restaurant we'd drive 45 minutes to get to after we'd run our errands on Saturday. Panera and Chipotle and all the little shops that cluster around a mall.

pop culture! I'm in a time warp. I haven't had any new movies, books or music. I don't know what the catch-phrases are or what the latest jokes are about. (Feel free to burn me a copy of your favorite cd and send it. I'll listen to it!)

libraries and bookstores where you can browse. I admit to judging books by their covers. (Wow, lots of admissions today. Defenses must be lowered by rotten cold.) I like to pick a book up, flip through it, read the back and the jacket. I don't really like hardbacks--too hard to read in the tub--but all the books I'm waiting for will take another year before they're in paperback.

parks you can eat in and walk on the grass.

clean air and things to do outside.

living without having to read the culture all the time. Even when I see things I've observed before I'm busy filing it away as proof of a correct assumption. This isn't conscious. It's like when I go to a play and I spend the whole time re-saying the lines in my head to correct inflection or timing. I don't MEAN to. It just happens. (Thank you, Judi Dench, for being brilliant in Hay Fever last summer so I could just watch the play.)

a drug store that sells cold-eaze so I could nip this in the bud, stop whinging and feel better.

On the plus side, it's Victory Day tomorrow so we don't have school. Hooray! Pajama Day!

(I'm also thankful for the cold medicines Ann Marie brought me and the chicken boullion Rachael brought me. All are being put to good use tonight! ;> Cheers, you two.)

13 comments:

Suz said...

(((Aw Kate))),

I'm so sorry you're feeling so bad and missing home so much.

I agree about watching so much "comfort" TV when you're sick. I hardly EVER watch TV, but since I've been sick I've been just glued in front of the tube.

Feel better!

Tami said...

That's awful...being so sick and far away from home at the same time stinks!
If you have a decent internet connection you can catch some of the network shows online. I know ABC has a lot of their lineup online...Brothers and Sisters, Desperate Housewives and October Road are pretty good. At the very least it may help pass the time while you're so sick.
I hope you feel better soon!

Rachael said...

Kate,
Hope you feel better soon.
I'd be happy to send you some TV show DVDs if there is a way to do that without getting the package opened and taxed by the powers that be if you email me your address and tell me the best way to send it.
Kind of makes you appreciate America, doesn't it?

Anonymous said...

www.tvguide.com/soaps you can get daily updates.

Jenni said...

It's awful enough being sick, but being sick away from the homey things that give you comfort must be really tough.

If you have a decent internet connection, you can check out YouTube.com and watch all sorts of music videos. You can also check out political comedy shows like "The Daily Show" and :The Colbert Report" on ComedyCentral.com. That may give you some perspective over what's making waves in the US.

Best of luck Kate. I hope you are feeling better soon.

mommyto5 said...

Oh Kate sorry you are sick and praying you feel better soon!

Holly said...

It's too bad you're feeling icky. Hate that. Also too bad you can't access abc.com's website...you can watch full episodes of most of the shows, but only if you're in the US...maybe Canada, not sure.

If you send me your addy, I'll send you a pick me up from the states :-)

Feeling a bit guilty, you inspired me to write a better blog today, not just a short blurb of fluff, but actual content :-)

Feel better soon!

Calico Sky said...

ANOTHER GENERAL HOSPITAL FAN???!!!!! ME TOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

that is soooo true about being sick and comfort tv. I would VEG in front of the TV and watch all the soaps All My Children, Days of Our Lives, Y & R, Bold and the Beautiful, and the list goes on. I used to love Santa Barbara in the ol' days!!!

why aren't US shows available on the internet. You can watch hour 1 of dateline after 11am New York time.
Feel better soon!!!!

votemom said...

i'm really sorry you are sick.

Lea said...

I feel for you Kate. We are just getting over our third round of colds since the boys came home in January. We get everyone well, go to church, one of the boys catch a cold from playing in the nursery and we all end up sick again. One of the things I miss most: SICK DAYS! Mom's don't get sick days but they catch everything the kids get (or at least I have and so has my husband)...something I had not thought of (setting expectations) before the boys came home. I hope you are better soon. Being sick is bad enough; being sick in Russia without good tv and books must be miserable. Get well soon!

Suzanne said...

you too? I've been yucky for days now. And I agree with you about sleeping sitting up - it's worthless, but it beats chocking to death.

Melissa said...

I'm also struggling with a rotten spring cold. Hope you are feeling better soon!

I used to be a huge General Hospital fan. Holly and Robert Scorpio were my absolute favorites! I haven't seen GH in a few years. I wonder if I would recognize any of the characters now.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like your episodes of GH are coming a little late. But I think this is around when I started recording them for you. I sent you 2 weeks of it and will have 3 more to send in a few days. I also have some L&L specials and the Daytime Emmys for you. Love, Nif