Such a little thing

A virus is very very small. It is a non-living particle that can invade and take over the machinery of your cells. They are also incurable in the strickest sense of the word. The symptoms of infections can be treated, but you have to wait for your own body's immune system to kill the germs. Which it almost always eventually will.

I know all this. I know that from infection to defeat it takes 10 to 14 days. I know that a cold is not life-threatening.

But DAYUM! I am miserable.

I'm stopped up. My chest feels heavy. My throat hurts a bit. I'm tired.

I'm treating it with fluids, over the counter drugs, and copious amounts of whining.

I wish I knew the cure for the common cold.

I heard from the mechanic, the KIA won't be fixed for at least another full week. I don't know if its that complicated a job, or if he's waiting for parts to ship, of if he just works at a snail's pace.

But its another reason it was a good idea to get another car.

It isn't an investment so much as a security measure. I must attend classes in Pittsburg to keep up with my graduate studies, maintain my eligibility to work in Kansas, and ultimately keep my job.

It runs fine. Starts a little sluggishly first thing in the morning, but not too bad. We took it to Wichita and back yesterday, no problems.

Work is going well, I am adjusting to the rythem of my days and the tricks to my routines. The kids are great for the most part. A few are challenging, but its a challenge I appreciate.

The adults I work with are more of an issue. I am a co-teacher. I am paid almost 40K a year to assist kids in the classroom. In one class, a science class taught by a guy older than dirt, I sit a take notes for an hour and a hald (block schedules) while he talks all hour. No test books to read, to assigments to grade or modify, or help kids with.

In another class, biology, she is really a wuss about talking to the kids and being clear with them about what she wants, what she expects, and when they are out of line. She's also such a prude that I can't immagin how she got into teaching biology. (the anatomy mannequins are all dressed and she can't explain what a colostomy bag is without a lot of "you knows").

I'm in one English class with an absolutely green teacher who refuses to make an adult desk area for me. In fact had the janitorial staff remove desks. Another teacher has her classroom arranged in such a way as to make it impossible to move around the room and look at what students are doing. The ability to get to where the students are and see what they are doing is key to both classroom management and to knowing if they are getting what they need to get.

I guess my challenge is finding a way to work with these teachers. They feel like they should be in charge of what's going on completely, and I don't think they realize that I am both more educated than they are and more highly paid. I guess I'm not sure I want to accept being relegated to barely above a para.