It feels like years since it's been here

This is Dex and Nikki, who are mentioned below. (The picture's here because I haven't posted a photo in a long time.) They are not like this all the time, externally at least.

I've been remiss in  my blogging recently, and it's gotten worse because, you know, remissery loves company.

Thank you, thank you very much.

Actually, though, after awhile wherever you are stops being remarkable and exotic and just becomes where you are. I went with my friend Ray to the National Museum a couple of weeks ago and saw an enormous number of ancient Korean and (on loan) Peruvian artifacts and couldn't even get worked up enough to blog about it. Of course, once you've seen thirteen 1500-year-old pre-Incan cups, the next thirty or so seem kind of routine.

Also, the school schedule, as I've already moaned about here, is wearing me down, especially because two of the classes are very difficult for me to teach. I think that contributed to my getting a bit sick.

On Sunday, I felt really hung over, which would have been a trick since I haven't had a drink in weeks. I was dizzy and really weak, with all kinds of digestive unpleasantnesses and maybe a touch of fever. Sunday night, I slept fitfully and notmuchally, and yesterday morning I was all set to call in sick. However, we get a $350 bonus if we don't use any sick days, so I manned up and managed to whine my way through the school day yesterday. I even walked to Citizen's Forest Park and waited, bravely muttering encouragement, while my four runners ran.

And then there's the weather... I know I just posted this same idea a few days ago, but I don't know if I can really retire someplace where it's cold and gray for so long. I will always, always be an Ithacan, but I think maybe I need warmth and sunshine.

...and then today I felt pretty much better, and it was sixty degrees Fahrenheit, and I just had to get out after school. I missed running with Lauren, as she'd gone out a bit earlier, but I saw Chris and Zach sitting by the stream, having a touch of liquid refreshment and doing paperwork. Nikki, our new art teacher, who is probably the only 5-foot-9 dreadlocked blonde in Korea, was out running with her husband Dex (sans face paint). And Chris promises that tomorrow he'll go out running with the "team" and me, and Lauren says she will next week.

And the sun was out and my window was open and kids are playing basketball in the park across the street and the Doosan Bears have a home game in less than six weeks.

It's like coming out of a cocoon.