Sicker than a dog

Today and yesterday were my first two sick days of the year. My friends tell me I've been overworking myself, which is partly true, but it's surprising I got sick now, because I really did take it easy on the weekend.
On Friday night, we had our last game of bowling. We stopped by Eddie's for dinner and I picked up an advent calendar for old time's sakes. I was on fire during bowling, for some reason. Even though I bowled zero in the first and last frames, I managed to score 136. I've never scored above 100 before. I lucked out with a bunch of strikes and spares - I just wish I'd had that luck earlier in the season. I hung out with some friends at Starbucks afterwards and took an early taxi back to Jinshitan. Once I got home, I buckled down and finished all my weekend marking. I was ecstatic at the first opportunity to really enjoy a weekend.
On Saturday morning, Anita and I headed into Dalian to run some errands before the Christmas party. First we went to the post office to mail some Christmas cards. We had them all ready to go, but we were told that we needed special envelopes, so we had to readdress every letter. Maybe that's why my letters from September took so long to send. I don't even know if they've made it to Canada yet. Anita and I were planning to go to a spa (where many Chinese people go to bathe - it's segregated into men and women and essentially you're taking a bath with a bunch of other naked people. It sounds more awkward than relaxing, but I still want to try the experience). Unfortunately, the mail took so long that we were out of time for the spa, so we did a little shopping instead. We went down to Er Chi square so that Anita could pick up her tailor-made dress for the night (I decided against getting a special outfit made, since I couldn't decide on a cut, colour, or fabric (too many choices!), but I wore a skirt instead). I did a little browsing and saw some beautiful coats at one of the booths. I've been wanting to get a long coat tailored, so I talked to the ladies in broken Chinese and managed to describe the coat I was looking for. The offered me a price of 450 yuan, but I thought it was a little much and suggested 300 yuan. They shook their heads, and I still wasn't sure I wanted it, so I told them I'd think about it. Then they said ok for 300, so I couldn't refuse (that's about 55 bucks for a knee-length peacoat). I can't wait to pick it up next week. I was so proud of being able to describe exactly what I wanted and negotiate a price without having Anita around to translate!
We went down to the hairdressers after Er Chi and got a dry hair wash, massage, and style. We did our makeup in the salon and jumped into a taxi to get to the party. The party at the Imperial Hotel was incredible! There was so much good food catered by Eddie's and at least 100 teachers came out to celebrate. We danced the night away until about 11:30 and then Anita and I went to Elaine's grandparents' apartment to crash in Dalian.
We got up early the next morning and ran a bunch of errands at Metro (my favourite store for groceries and imports, even though it's crazy-expensive), Decathalon (a great sportsware store), and B+Q (a furniture store). We picked up some cute lamps for $2 and a great shelf for our kitchen. The only trouble was that we were lugging heavy bags around Dalian to get to church. We finally made it a little on the late side and were glad to take a load off our shoulders for a while. After church we came straight home and Anita and I went for a bike ride since it was so nice outside. It's been so clear lately and hardly cold at all. I treated myself to a massage after the ride and went all out with a full-body and back oil massage. My masseuse didn't want me walking home alone at night, so he walked me back to my apartment, even though I assured him I'd stay safe. I went to bed early, completely relaxed.
Monday was Anita's birthday, so I planned to bake her a cake and have a potluck at our place in the evening. I didn't get a chance to back during my morning prep, since one of my students wanted to get some tutouring, so I rushed home after school. I baked a cake, some shake-and-bake chicken, potatoes, broccoli and cheese sauce. Anita, Rodi, Anjali, Elaine, Suiki, and I had such a feast together - thai curry, indian potatoes and chick peas, chinese soup, and all my dutch food (it makes my stomach queasy just thinking about it). I ate until I was stuffed and then we surprised Anita by inviting a bunch of other teachers over for cake. Anita and I went out for a bike ride afterwards to get a massage, but they were already closed, so we just headed back home. I was feeling a little sick to my stomach, but had no idea how sick I really was. When I started puking, it just wouldn't stop. I don't think I slept a wink that night and I lost track of the number of times I threw up after 10. I vomited more times that night than I have in the past 15 years put together. There were times when I didn't know whether to sit down or lean over the toilet. By the end of the night, I was puking up tea and medication. I called in a sub, but still had to go to school in the morning to make sub plans. Sometimes it's easier just to teach than to call in sick! I slept all day and all through the night, without hardly waking up. When I got up this morning, I was feeling a little better, but still really weak and unable to hold down food, so I called in a sub again. I still went in to school to make plans and practice for our New Year's musical performance tomorrow. I hope I'm fully better by then. I'm playing pachabel's canon with three violins. I'm grateful for all the wonderful friends I have here. Anita made me tea and prayed with me for the past few days. Rodi gave me some medication and Suiki called to see how I was. Anjali stopped by to give me a hug and get me something to drink. I'm so well cared for!