The fun has ended

Well, I feel that I have been away from the blogosphere for a bit, and yes - that's right. I have. Wednesday night I had to make up an exam for my wonderful group of kids. Then Thursday, smack in the middle of the exam -- well, not quite middle, as a few students took me up on my "You may take as long as you like for the exam" - 3+ hours for what should have been 1.5 hours at most - yikes!! I guess these kids are hard workers, though - the ones who took so long were actually writing BOOKS that were valid answers - not just trying to bulls**t their way through answers. Lesson learned. Timed and explicitly stated rules about not writing in margins, writing large enough so I can read, etc....
But I digress.

About an hour in, I started getting wracked with abdominal cramps and a headache. As I was sitting there trying to be normal the tears were coming up, I was in such pain. But I made it through, got back to the hotel at 3 pm Thursday, adding in sweaty and feverish to the list, and crawled into bed straightaway.

Is this food poisoning?

I tell you, homesick doesn't cover it. All you want is your teddy bear and your bed, and a cupboard filled with chicken soup and bread and butter.

Aside from going to the bathroom, and answering the door for room service (about 12 bucks for a bowl of cream of chicken soup... made me appreciate both the price and the wonderful taste of the soup I get in the cafeteria at work!), Anyway, aside from that I didn't get out of bed for 18 hours. Literally. I got up at about 9:30 Friday morning, dragged myself to the lounge to try breakfast, which I managed (fruit, cereal, yogurt, just one small cup of coffee - you KNOW I'm not well when I have that little caffeine and completely bypass eggs, and bacon and sausage...!).

Then, knowing the onslaught of all the housekeeping people would start (one to clean up, one to drop off bottled water, one to check the TV and who knows what else (!), one to turn down the bed in the evening), I threw on my swimsuit and grabbed all the exams and hit the pool.

Now, I just have to say, sick or not, this is the way grading should be - It was actually cloudy all morning, with a stiff breeze, but then the sun came out. So, grade a question, lie in the sun, dip my feet in the pool, grade another question, hit the jacuzzi...
Okay, I didn't actually even get up and touch the pool or the jacuzzi, but I wanted to! I just basked in the breeze, and the sun, and graded and snoozed. Didn't move off the chaise, as I was still afraid my abdomen would burst (I am still in pain 30 hours later, but it's a little better, and I'm not sweating and feverish).
But by 3:30, as the sun was shutting down for the day (the afternoon clouds roll abuot that time every day), it was cooling off, so time to retreat. And, I was getting pissed at my body so I decided to hit the gym for the weight room. Did a slightly abbreviated workout (ow, ow), and here I am. Getting ready to crawl back into bed again.

But all is not lost. I am psyched - I have made arrangements to rent a car tomorrow (that's Saturday), and finally tour the whole main island - maybe hit a museum, the Great Mosque perhaps, and DEFINITELY the craft shops, and see some REAL sand that isn't part of a "Reclamation project." Oh, and at least drive by the F1 racetrack... Not going to spend thirty bucks for the last of three days of racing, though (the "Desert 400" - besides, it's not like I'm some racing/NASCAR freak - I'm in it for the personal knowledge and angst of working with a team)
:)

I have also been informed of why dumping sand in the harbor around footings and building out the island is "reclamation" as opposed to newly building. I guess, if I were worth anything as a geologist I would have done my homework, and found that the Gulf peninsula is tilting away from the Red Sea to the west. And that therefore, once upon a time this area was higher in elevation, and has since flooded due to that tilting, which is bringing down ths part of the Peninsula.

Oh. Now if I could only figure out why the F1 track in the middle of the island is in a depression below sea level, according to one of my students.

Anyway, enough educational crap. Wish me luck that I feel better by tomorrow morning!!