Scribbler's Cafe

Madness

Zoom. Zoom. Zoom. This past week has been crazy. Here are the highlights:

Last Monday, after running with our students in a billion degree afternoon humidity, the part-time teacher trailing me collapsed onto the pavement. He fell over backwards, cracked his head open on the cement and started convulsing. I was the only other teacher around. Oh crap. Instead of trying to remember the CPR I've learned at least five times and forgotten just as many, I sprinted to get the nurse. I told her to bring the AED (electronic shocker machine) and to hurry hurry hurry! When we got back to the collapsed teacher, he had no pulse and was not breathing. The PE had started CPR, but he wasn't responding. That was a terrifying moment. He did NOT look good. He looked rather... dead.

The nurse affixed the the connectors to his chest, pushed the button, got the go-ahead and shocked him. His pulse came back and he started to breathe again. Within five minutes, he was doing much better and mumbling about being sorry for the trouble he caused. (No problem!) The ambulance came and took him away.

The hospital called our school later that day and told us that if we hadn't responded within three minutes that he would have died, and even so, the odds of the AED working are very very slim - about 1 in 30. I am very thankful he is alive and doing much better and that I was able to help in some small way (even if just to get better help than me). But, I have to admit, that scared the crap out of me. When I heard how close he came and that if we hadn't of acted quickly he would have died, well, that makes me very nervous.

So there was that. Of course, last week was a very hectic week at school anyway. I had a full load of classes to plan and teach, 186 English compositions to decipher and grade, a toddler that wanted my full and undivided attention, and all that lovely teacher drama that I manage to stir up.

Kiomye has also been feeling the stress that work is causing me and demanding more attention so that she can feel secure. One frantic morning, my babysitter didn't show up and I had to find a safe place for Kiomye just 20 minutes before I needed to teach my first class of the day. Plus, my students have recently discovered that I'm divorced and have made it their personal mission to try set me up with all sorts of inappropriate teachers, or else themselves. I had to clean out my apartment top to bottom because on Saturday I had 23 of my favorite students over to have the last movie class of the term in my livingroom. (amazingly successful and easy)

I managed to get out to the last Reading Words event in Hommachi (Osaka) this Sunday and had a great time. I read twice and got very strong and positive responses to my work. I also made a lot of friends, which is wonderful. One woman picked up on the erotica sub-lines in my writings and confessed to me later about her own personal work along those lines. We're going to meet-up and swap dirty stories - brilliant fun! Also, a few of the writers were very interested in what I had to say about collaborative writings and now we're starting up a group that will meet as soon as I have a break in my classes. (SOON!) I also made friends with Goth (Yes, GOTH) who is an excellent performer and photographer and we're going to meet up sometime this week to hang out, see his gallery and shoot the shit. Yes, that was a good night.

Today I taught the last of my regular classes and had a late night staff meeting. I teach on Friday, but it's an easy day, after that, it's just final tests, meetings and a sumo tournament. Toru might come visit me next week, which will be wonderful and relaxing if he actually does. Kiomye and I have plans to hit up the Osaka aquarium next week. This Sunday I may go to another literary event being held in a bar. (fun!)

Many more things happened, but now I'm having a hard time remembering them all. Things have just been crazy busy. I'm so glad the term is almost over.

posted by Scribbler @ Wednesday, June 28, 2006