Yesterday at work I started feeling a sore throat coming on, and in the evening I was congested in my head, down my throat, and it felt like it was congested all the way to my stomach. I went to bed at 6:30 feeling like crap, and woke up the next morning at 5:30 feeling even worse.
Today I left for school a little early, since Kuniko was going in to school late today. I would normally call in sick in this situation, but since I am working with people that won’t let axe wounds stop them from working, I was feeling a little pressure. The protocol is really to go in to work, look miserable, and then beg off early pleading near-physiological meltdown.
Luckily I had only three classes to get through. The classes were pretty voice intensive, though, and since I couldn’t speak very well I had to suck down a cough drop between each of my classes. After the first class I started the very complex procedure to be able to go home early.
I work for a staffing company, not directly for my school. That makes things infinitely more complicated. First, I asked the vice principal if it would be OK to finish off my classes and then go home at around 1 p.m. – three hours early. He could tell by looking at me that I was a mess so he said no problem.
For employees of the school that is enough – just go home. From there, I had to send a message to my contact at the staffing company. She then called to confirm with the vice principal. He was out when she called, so she asked another teacher who had no idea that I was sick. The teacher (luckily) confirmed (based on no visible evidence) that I looked terrible and it was fine for me to go home. Then the staffing company sent me a message saying that I needed to fax them a form showing the time I left early.
After my last class I took the form and faxed it to the company. Then I said my goodbyes and left school, ready to get home and get some rest. About four blocks away from the school the staffing company called and said they hadn’t gotten the fax – I had faxed it to their voice number. Oops. I turned around and walked all the way back to school, faxed it to the correct number, and then finally confirmed with the staffing company that they had the information they needed. Then, I could go home.
All this is really just to cover the staffing company, and to make sure that if I was in an accident on the way home my insurance would still cover me. Still, I’m tempted next time to clear it with my school and just sneak out. It was a major pain, and when you’re sick the last thing you want to have to deal with is a major paperwork hassle.
Coming home was an interesting experience. Coming home at a different time means I don’t know when the trains are running, and so my return time is not as certain as when I go home at four o’clock. In Kobe the trains were running late, so I had to wait an extra thirty minutes or so at two different stations before I could get home.
At one station an old lady came up and started to speak to me in English. I didn’t mind chatting but she was a little odd. Her breath was terrible, and she would smile and laugh at something and then instantly turn off her smile and try to think of the next thing to say. It was a little unnerving, and I almost waited for the next train to avoid her. Luckily she sat somewhere else and I rode home in peace.
I’m back home now in the kotatsu, still congested to the gills. I ate some bread and a leftover taco for lunch, even though I’m not hungry. I’m hoping to get this illness out of my system so that I’ll be healthy for the trip to America. Hopefully I won’t give it to Kuniko and ruin her trip.
