Entry 1: Dehydrated Idiot
I've not been able to get to sleep! My body heat has long won the war against the chill of the bed. However, a combination of tasks I need to complete today in Grand Rapids (where I am not), along with handful of email related work, a myriad of thoughts about this TEFL program, and the fact that I've gone and dehydrated myself have pushed sleep beyond my immediate reach.
The headache alerted my conscious mind to what I've done to my body over the last three days. Since Monday, I've only eaten one meal, which I told myself, would be fine since I've adapted my Ramadan diet to include water intake. As I lay in bed, I knew I'd told myself a lie. Well, actually my kidneys joined my headache in alerting me to the lie. From about 10pm - 1am I laid awake in bed with thoughts of tasks swirling around in my head masking the headache, which grew intense enough to silence the thoughts of tasks I couldn't do anything about anyway.
From about 1 - 1:45, I was content with riding the headache into sleep because it was less irritating than thinking about stuff. I knew I should've got up and drank some water because my mother always said, "a headache is a sign of dehydration, drink some water." But she always said those words where it was warm; my Peruvian room ain't warm.
However, when my kidneys joined the "idiot, you're dehydrated," conversation at about 1:50 am, it only took them about 15 minutes to drudge whatever fluids they could find from the rest of my body into my bladder. This drudging process was manual, new, and odd. I can't say it was a pleasant feeling or a painful feeling. It was just a feeling that complemented my headache and brought my bladder into the conversation of my idiocy.
Still, I stayed put under the covers debating the pros and cons of going to the bathroom for a few trickles of brown urine (deep yellow to brownish is a good indication of dehydration).
Pro: I might get to sleep by 3am (my alarm is set for 5:30am)
Pro: If I go to the bathroom, I can drink water and attack my dehydration
Con: It's freaking freezing outside these covers
Con: My bladder is probably tricking me to think it's more than a few trickles
Con: I will be out there for a long time because I have to get my steriPen, pour water from the bottle into the cup I bought so I can insert the pen deep enough into the water to sterilize it. Before, I can pour the bottled water into the cup; I've to wash the cup!
Con: by the time I get done trickling, cleaning the cup, pouring the water, and purifying it, the bed will be freezing again!!!
Once I completed my last con thought, it was 2:11 am and, with the help a head, kidneys, and bladder, I was able to see my foolery.
I got out of bed, put my feet in shoes, quick-stepped through the cold air into the colder bathroom, shocked my still warm bottom out of all warmth, and trickled relief.
I've not been able to get to sleep! My body heat has long won the war against the chill of the bed. However, a combination of tasks I need to complete today in Grand Rapids (where I am not), along with handful of email related work, a myriad of thoughts about this TEFL program, and the fact that I've gone and dehydrated myself have pushed sleep beyond my immediate reach.
The headache alerted my conscious mind to what I've done to my body over the last three days. Since Monday, I've only eaten one meal, which I told myself, would be fine since I've adapted my Ramadan diet to include water intake. As I lay in bed, I knew I'd told myself a lie. Well, actually my kidneys joined my headache in alerting me to the lie. From about 10pm - 1am I laid awake in bed with thoughts of tasks swirling around in my head masking the headache, which grew intense enough to silence the thoughts of tasks I couldn't do anything about anyway.
From about 1 - 1:45, I was content with riding the headache into sleep because it was less irritating than thinking about stuff. I knew I should've got up and drank some water because my mother always said, "a headache is a sign of dehydration, drink some water." But she always said those words where it was warm; my Peruvian room ain't warm.
However, when my kidneys joined the "idiot, you're dehydrated," conversation at about 1:50 am, it only took them about 15 minutes to drudge whatever fluids they could find from the rest of my body into my bladder. This drudging process was manual, new, and odd. I can't say it was a pleasant feeling or a painful feeling. It was just a feeling that complemented my headache and brought my bladder into the conversation of my idiocy.
Still, I stayed put under the covers debating the pros and cons of going to the bathroom for a few trickles of brown urine (deep yellow to brownish is a good indication of dehydration).
Pro: I might get to sleep by 3am (my alarm is set for 5:30am)
Pro: If I go to the bathroom, I can drink water and attack my dehydration
Con: It's freaking freezing outside these covers
Con: My bladder is probably tricking me to think it's more than a few trickles
Con: I will be out there for a long time because I have to get my steriPen, pour water from the bottle into the cup I bought so I can insert the pen deep enough into the water to sterilize it. Before, I can pour the bottled water into the cup; I've to wash the cup!
Con: by the time I get done trickling, cleaning the cup, pouring the water, and purifying it, the bed will be freezing again!!!
Once I completed my last con thought, it was 2:11 am and, with the help a head, kidneys, and bladder, I was able to see my foolery.
I got out of bed, put my feet in shoes, quick-stepped through the cold air into the colder bathroom, shocked my still warm bottom out of all warmth, and trickled relief.
Next, I tackled the bottled water issue. I bought a cup because I had a suspicion I wasn't sterilizing the water correctly when using the pen with the bottle.
Cleaning the cup took longer than expected because it had three price tags: one on the side, one on the bottom, and of course, one stuck inside at the bottom of the cup, who does that?
Okay, with sticker out and cup cleaned, I poured water and inserted the steriPen. The pen lit up differently, which strengthened my suspensions that I'd been using it incorrectly during my limited water intake on Monday and Tuesday.
Since I was up and cold again, I decided to look at a YouTube video on how the pen should work (everything is on YouTube). Yes, every video I viewed (I only watched 3, but there were many to choose from) confirmed my strong suspension that I had indeed used the steriPen incorrectly on every occasion leading up to my 2am attempt!
Good news, I changed my alarm from 5:30 to 8:00am and was in bed by 3:25am, by which time the cold sheets were a non sequitur, and I was asleep within minutes.
Note 1: I briefly considered ending the previous sentence with one or more exclamation marks but the action would have been a bold-faced lie!
Cleaning the cup took longer than expected because it had three price tags: one on the side, one on the bottom, and of course, one stuck inside at the bottom of the cup, who does that?
Okay, with sticker out and cup cleaned, I poured water and inserted the steriPen. The pen lit up differently, which strengthened my suspensions that I'd been using it incorrectly during my limited water intake on Monday and Tuesday.
Since I was up and cold again, I decided to look at a YouTube video on how the pen should work (everything is on YouTube). Yes, every video I viewed (I only watched 3, but there were many to choose from) confirmed my strong suspension that I had indeed used the steriPen incorrectly on every occasion leading up to my 2am attempt!
Good news, I changed my alarm from 5:30 to 8:00am and was in bed by 3:25am, by which time the cold sheets were a non sequitur, and I was asleep within minutes.
Note 1: I briefly considered ending the previous sentence with one or more exclamation marks but the action would have been a bold-faced lie!
Entry 2: Nutella:
I went to the plaza for the last jar of Nutella, which was gone -- of course. The grocery explained that the items moves, "rapido," which I understood without issue.
I went to the plaza for the last jar of Nutella, which was gone -- of course. The grocery explained that the items moves, "rapido," which I understood without issue.
| More importantly, I bought matches, which turned out to be useless for lighting stove. |
More, more importantly, I bought that gigantic jug of water! | 
|
Tied with more, more importantly, Mel lit the stove with her magic lighter and I was able to cook food.
It's a new delicious recipe born out of simplicity, which I'll bring home with me: spaghetti, green, and Kalamata olives, avocado, fresh garlic, and olive oil (I love olives).
It's a new delicious recipe born out of simplicity, which I'll bring home with me: spaghetti, green, and Kalamata olives, avocado, fresh garlic, and olive oil (I love olives).