Why is it that I can stick my finger so far down my throat that I can feel the pipe thingy and not gag, but when, with my toothbrush, I brush a little further back than the tip of my tongue, my entire system screams “EJECT!!!”?.
Last night I walked K home, and as neither of us had dinner, we bought some meat sticks. “You want it spicy?” asked the vendor who apparently didn’t pay attention when K answered “just a little”.
She bought 10 yuan worth, which is a lot, and after she had maybe 5, she couldn’t take it any more, it was too spicy. Not one to waste food, I finished them all. It wasn’t such a great idea.
After I waved her goodbye at the bus stop, my stomach noted its displeasure at the junk I had deposited. It started to take action clearly aimed at evicting the offenders. I hurried home.
Back home, ready for action facing the loo, I felt nauseous, but couldn’t exorcise the demons. I thought about what exactly I had eaten to evaluate the necessity of what I was waiting for. Meat, sure, but with more than a generous helping of spices, which I’m sure was made up of at least 50% MSG and a whole host of other not-so-good-for-you ingredients. “Out”, I thought, “for the good of my stomach and body, it must out”.
Recalling techniques from the Bulimic’s Cook Book, I washed my hands and stuck my finger down my throat. I stuck it in deep, but I didn’t gag. In fact, it was quite interesting, because I could feel where my throat closed off. “How the hell do they do it then?” I pondered. I then recalled that in the mornings, I can never brush my damn tongue because I always gag.
I grabbed my tooth brush, didn’t even brush halfway down my tongue, and sure as Bob, gag city. I quickly got rid of most of the meat sticks and my stomach felt better for it. To calm the rest of it and hopefully purge some toxins from my body, I made myself a two-tea bag bottle of Rooibos tea.
And now sitting here, I can feel the tea is doing its job, because I’ve been quite a frequent visitor to the facilities today.
Between my uneasy stomach and my uneasy mind, I’ve contemplated a lot of things today. The main worry on my mind is how I’m going to make it through these next 3 weeks. I can’t concentrate on my work and students anymore, because I’m rapidly disconnecting.
I’ve been reading a lot about the field I will work in come July and I’m quite excited to get started. With the excitement has come intolerance for the intolerable behaviour of many of students.
But, as a professional, and not forgetting the honorable man that I am, I will have to stick it out and focus until the end. Easier said than done.
Sorry, now I have to run…