A Stuffed Nose in the Champagne Room?

Today was about, finally, getting a slight illness. A month in without more than a hint of illness – well, minus one slightly runny (in two senses) Saturday.

It may be about to be ruint.

They added a perfectly round Canadian woman (with hair that would do the Predator proud) to our office and she is teaching the kiddies. The kiddies, other than being a rich field for the alleged white pedophiles who Korea believe stalk Korea relentlessly, are also an incubatory experiment. As in every country, when young kids get together, with their developing immune systems and varied bacteria and virii, many interesting diseases shoot through the classroom. Miss Canada is our disease vector to that broth of disease. Effing Canadians, they really mess everything up, eh hoser?

I have slight premonitory feelings in the throat and nose that I am attempting to drown in Soju.

Unrelated, I discover that I am missing (which probably really means “I lost”) the student book for my morning class. Perversely, this may result in a better class for them, as I have combed very carefully through the workbook and teacher’s manual to make sure I’m on track, and it has resulted in what must surely be my most detailed lesson plan. I sincerely hope it has something to do with what is in their textbooks. ;-)

If I do bust through this disease by tomorrow night, a beautiful thing might develop. My Friday class has been cancelled for an MT (and if I never explain that, please remind me to do so - it is a critical collegiate rite of passage here and has some bacchanalian aspects that are interesting.. or at least cause too much drinking and hooking up) and so I might be able to go to this killer presentation at Seoul University that, LO and BEHOLD, has something to do with my interest in marketing and Korea, and marketing Korea…

The cancelled class, in combination with the conference in Seoul, seems to be one of those “pssst… hey buddy… over here..” moments. Except I probably won’t get mugged or laid by someone in the alley that is Seoul University. If I’m feeling half decent tomorrow I will get details on the conference and shoot up to Seoul on Friday morning (Thursday to that half of the world that is eternally behind the Korean Wave).

I’m feeling that academic thing again.

Heck, it’s worth that trip if only because the bullet trains in Korea (and probably most of the rest of the first world) reveal how lame AMTRAK is, no matter how much I like it.

Also.. I’ve got all my instructional sound-files on the iPod and am beginning to love iTunes, which I previously hated. It’s still a sack of shit about rights protection and burning CDs.. but I’ve finally started making logical playlists and.. DUH.. they make life quite convenient. I always forget.. Apple is about making things stylish and easy for incompetents such as myself..

But now I have a playlist for each class and when my boy Adam gets me the bone-speaker-thingie I will have:

a) an in-class tool much smaller and more convenient than the other instructors who are lugging little boom-boxes around, and

b) A home stereo to .. you know… to help ease the transition from a sex act to a grade…

You feel me…

I know you feel me.

Would you like a relaxing glass of Champagne?

Or an A+?