Swine Flu and Roommate Bios!

Well, I have swine flu. That's fun. Its funny that I left the furor of H1N1 in Seattle only to find it alive and well up here... and then it got me pinned in the miserable pig pen of fever, chills, sore throat, headache and body aches. Hey, I'm just happy I don't have crap spewing out of either end, that was a possibility. (Yes, that was crude, sorry! But I just want my readers to be informed.) So, yesterday I woke up and felt gross. But, I powered through and went to work anyway. I was already shivering, though it was one of the warmest days we have had in a while (like 41-47), so I took my temp. 98.3. Oh sweet, I'm not only not sick, my temperature is extra low. I must be extra healthy! Not so, not so. I'm an idiot and probably made myself worse when I politely declined 3 (count 'em, THREE!) rides home after work. By then I knew I was sick but I am ridiculously stubborn and have made it a habit to pretty much always refuse rides home. Why? Good freaking question.

Let's just say I was cursing myself the entire walk home as my throat felt like it was corroding away and my backpack felt a million pounds. By the time I got home, I was a mess. I went straight upstairs and laid in bed for a few hours, trying to get warm. Then, I woke up and went downstairs... felt like more crap and so I went back to bed. I woke up one more time, popped some ibuprofen and drank some tea and soup and started feeling better. After a bit more time, I went to bed for the night, woke up in the morning, called my boss and went back to sleep.

Today has been one of the most boring days in the history of sick days. I can't function if I don't take some fever/pain meds but if I do take them... I get sooooo bored. I watched Little Women and Great Expectations, talked to my mom (I may have moved away... but I still need my mommy when I'm sick :) ) and slept. The interesting parts of my day have been when it is about time for another dose of ibuprofen. Then my day starts to get really good, I get to find out how crappy I am going to feel before it kicks in again. Let me tell you, its the best game. NOT.

But, before everyone starts freaking out, I'm fine. I called the clinic (aka the hospital) and they told me it will last like 3-5 days and then I will be right as rain. And, I'm already on day 2. So basically, by the time you read this, I will probably be better and one of my roomies will have gotten it. :)

Other than turning into a pig... life is good. Work is exciting, we had 4 new students start yesterday and I keep making deeper connections with the kids. I really missed work today. I even had my roommate go grab my computer from BABS today so that I could get some work done tomorrow.

As for the roommates, I have had a lot of requests for bios of my roomies. I will do my best. My roommate Ariel, aka the one I share a room with, is working at the Tundra Women's Coalition, a woman and children's shelter. She is the legal advocate there. She gets to go to court sometimes for restraining orders and such. She really enjoys singing and is involved in Unitarian Universalist religion. I don't know much about it, except it is a very open set of beliefs, people find their own path to God.

Joe is the "old" one. He is 27 and is working at the Senior Center. He used to live in Illinois where he worked in asset management but he decided that he didn't like his life's trajectory, so he changed it. He is absolutely great, quiet with a good sense of humor. He definitely contributes a lot of laughs to our group. He's got some sweet dance moves, some of which he learned from the Senior Center's "aerobics" class.

Abby is also working at TWC but she is the children's advocate. She is in charge of Teens Acting Against Violence (T.A.A.V.) a group of teens that meets a couple of weeks to combat domestic violence. She was the one that I feel like I clicked with the fastest, but now I feel like I don't see her all that much. She works a lot of nights and with my volleyball practice schedule (7-9 every weeknight) I'm not home that much. She is pretty cool though.

John is working at Bethel Community Services dispursing a really cool grant. He has chosen 10 candidates, some of whom are my students, who will spend the next year saving up to 1,000 dollars. If, at the end of the year, they have accomplished this and have attended mandatory financial education classes, BCS will match each dollar they have earned with 2 dollars. John is a great person but we are definitely two very strong willed people. We have had a few heated conversations but each one has made us closer.

Justin is the youth minister at the Catholic Church. He is easily one of the most original people I have met in my life. He is very outdoorsy, very knowldegable when it comes to all things technological. He has already proved to me that .99999 repeating actually equals 1. Fun fact, even the math teachers at BRHS can't argue that with him. He is full of all sorts of weird quirks, but it is always entertaining to hang out with him.

PJ works at the public defenders. He is in charge of prepping parents who have lost their kids to CPS to go to court. It is definitely an interesting position because it could potentially pit Abby and Ariel against PJ in the courtroom. He is great, definitely has a Boston accent and is always entertaining and laid-back. It is awesome to get Joe and PJ together. They love to rap and dance and just be ridiculous.

Overall, I spend most of my time with the boys. I have had plenty of nights filled with Sports Center, farting and dirty jokes, but I love it. So, for those of you so impatiently waiting to hear about my roomies, now you have it. And, I have killed a bit of time writing this so hopefully one of my roomies will be home soon to entertain me.

Also, for those of you anxiously awaiting my volleyball team's results, this past weekend we went 1 for 3. Its ok, we are improving. At least they didn't get beat 25-0 like they did when they were in Nome. (Yea, I didn't know it could happen, my girls were dedicated to losing!)

Ok, thats it. Love and miss you all!
Jill