waterlilybarb

Hi Shinny!

Glad you have a lighter day tomorrow.  Travelling when you're tired, especially when you have to be on your toes for work, can't be any fun.  Even if you have lots to do, doing it from home is nicer.

I've had a relapse of that darn cold/flu bug and have lost my voice again.  I'm just doing a quick scan of the boards and making sure I have awarded the points that were due for the anagrams before I rest some more.  It's only 6:45pm here, but I almost feel like I could sleep for the night.  I won't though, since I'll just wake up in the wee hours.  There's a new Jericho on tonight AND a new Boston Legal.  Of course they're on at the same time, so I'll be taping one of them...I don't know which yet.

You try and get some rest yourself.  You sound positively shattered.  I'm sure I'll see you tomorrow.

shinny

Thanks Barb, yeh I had a good night sleep and it made work a lot easier this morning. I'm also out of the race, thankfully, as I didn't anticipate how much time would be required to do it. I think it's probably easier for people who aren't working full time !!

We are off to Australia 3 weeks from Friday. I cannot believe how fast that has come in. I'm looking forward to the warm weather. We'll have an extended summer this year !! 4 weeks in Australia and we'll be back just as summer kicks in here, heaven.

How are you feeling now?

waterlilybarb

Honestly, I feel like crap today.  This stupid bug is kicking my butt.  I can't seem to kick it, and it's not an infection so there's no point in going to the doc.  

How nice for you that your holiday is coming up so quickly!  It will definitely be a treat to have an extended summer.  I wouldn't mind an extended spring...whenever it arrives.  It's been a rough winter, but I don't like the extreme heat & humidity we get here in summer...so a long spring would be just right.   It's your brother that's in Australia, right?  I'm sure you'll be glad to see him.  

Funny, but it seems like when people live far away, we make more of an effort to see them.  I have family near by that I rarely see, but my friends that live out of town I make the time to go visit.  I think it's that mindset that you can see them anytime (the ones nearby) that sometimes causes people to not do it more often.

imarielle626

Barb, sorry to hear you are sick again.  That bug just keeps on hunting you down!  I'm sure the cold winter isn't helping much either.  Maybe you need the extended summer!

I met some people from Australia while here in Israel.  They have had a really long extended summer.  They left Australia in February, right in the middle of their summer, then were in Israel February through December so were pretty much only hear for spring and summer, then go back home to summer in Australia.  How nice would it be to have three summers in a row?  It was something the Aussies liked to brag about I really want to visit Australia during my winter break sometime soon.  Now that I have friends there, it is more of an excuse to go!  Plus I have never been south of the equator so it would be cool to experience summer in December (not that winter in Miami is an actual winter lol).  It is so weird that my friend and I have our birthdays in the same month, but mine is a summer birthday and hers is a winter birthday.  

Shinny, sorry to hear you're out of the race.  I remember from the last one a number of people had to drop out because of the time it eats up.  It really is more of a test of endurance.  Tina just loves to see how much she can suck out of you guys (just kidding ).  Stick around though, there are more fun, new forum activities to come that aren't as time consuming as the Race.  I know I've got something cooking and Silver is working on something too.

waterlilybarb

Thanks...you're right, this long winter isn't helping at all!  I'm used to not feeling well, but I hate being sick on top of it.  I'm hoping I feel well enough to get to the store tomorrow so I can get the stuff to make another pot of chicken soup, though today it was just ginger tea and toast.  Onward and upward!

shinny

Barb, sorry to hear you are still unwell. Here is a virtual bowl of Chicken Soup for you...



My brother is so excited about us coming over. Even though he's been there for YEARS he still gets very homesick. They come home at least once a year for about 8 weeks. That's getting harder and harder to do though. We're a very close family and see each other every day, so he is just sooooooooo far away.

Thanks Arielle, yes. I feel a little more at ease now. Going back to watching things at leisure and participating in the games when I can. Honestly, I want to be able to come on here and do what I want, I was finding that with the race, my free time was sucked up here. Not too good because it was extending way too late into the night !!

How long have you been in Israel now? How much longer will you be there?

imarielle626

I've been here since September so that is what five almost six months now.  I've still got three months and a week left of my program.  Which is a nice segue into why I made my way to this thread in the first place...

I had my last day of volunteering at my kindergarden today.  I'm really going to miss those kids.  I learned so much from them, more than I ever expected.  It was nice to be able to speak Hebrew for four hours a day without having to worry about all the mistakes I was making.  In my next section I'll have Hebrew class every morning and those teachers a stricklers for grammar!  Grammer is probably the hardest part about learning a foreign language, especially a language that distinguish between genders because that is one thing English does not do.

Well I'm off to dinner now.  My roommates and I are splurging on Sushi because this is one of the last nights most of us will be together.  I've got one roommate in Texas, one leaving for Egypt soon, one roommate just got back from Morocco, two of us are leaving for Poland on Sunday, and another is leaving for South Africa on Monday.  Crazy huh?!

Feel Better Barb!

Nice new avatar Shinny!

shinny

Ah I see, you'll miss it when you go home. Are you homesick at all? I think you are great living a way for that long.

I was like that when I was learning French (I learned it in school for a few years, but then I re learned it in my job a few years back) I was always afraid to speak it to people who were fluent, but to kids you can just let it flow. I dated a French guy for a year and I'd never speak to him in French because I was afraid I'd say it totally wrong !!

*EDIT* Oh I meant to say thanks about the Avatar. I decided it was time for a change and I was feeling a bit silly, so when I found that gif I thought it was perfect !!

[ Last edited by shinny at 2-22-2008 01:21 ]

penny3760

Your new avatar is so cute!    I'm thinking of changing mine.  I just can't decide which one I want to use.

shinny

I love your avatar Penny, it's a great one. But it is nice to have a different one every now and again. As my Mam says "a change is as good as a rest" !!

waterlilybarb

Thanks for the soup Shinny.  I've still been too sick to get out to the store, so I wish I could press a button a have some pop out of my computer.   The new avatar is cute...I had to do a double-take to make sure who I was responding to.

I hope your evening is fun Arielle.  It will certainly be a change when you return from Poland.  How nice to have made so many friends from around the world.

imarielle626

I'm all packed!  It's sad tonight is my last night in the apartment.  Tomorrow night I'll be spending on the plane. It's weird to be all packed up and ready to leave.  It seems these last three months have flown by!  I still remember stepping off the plane in Israel back in September like it was yesterday and now my program is 2/3 of the way finished.  I am excited to go back home (I just applied for housing at my university last night), but I don't feel ready to go back school and leave Israel.  I know I still have three more months, but if those three months fly by like these past 3 did, I'll be home before I know it.  I guess it is a good thing that the track of my program i got placed on starts with 6 months of volunteering and ends with 3 months of university studies.  At least by the time I start university back in the states I will be back in student mode.  I start school three and a half weeks after I get home (and and move into my dorm the day after my birthday) because in Florida it is required that you do a summer semester and by applying as a freshman to start summer instead of fall puts you in a smaller pool so it is easier to get in.

Time really does fly when you're having fun!

casper27

Everything in life has a begining and this sounds like a great new adventure Arielle

imarielle626

Thanks!  I am happy, it's just sad when things are over.  I am going to miss the freedom of apartment life because the next part of my program I will be living in a hostel especially built for our program, then I go home to university and live in a dorm.

It has been a great adventure, one that is sadly coming to and end faster than I anticipated!

waterlilybarb

So you're off to Poland tomorrow.  How exciting!  I know what you mean about the mixed feelings, because, though I like change, I do miss some of the things left behind when change comes.  You're going to be a busy girl, that's for sure.

shinny

It's funny how quickly a place, or people can make an impact on you. At least you can always say that you have lived in Israel, how many people can say that?!! (besides all of the people who live in Israel )

Have fun in Poland !!!

Barb, how are you feeling? I  hope the cold has lifted a little.

We were out last night and I have a ferocious headache this morning. I literally had 4 drinks, but I still have a headache. I normally don't even bother drinking because I really do not like having a hangover. But I can't believe after only 4 drinks I have a hangover. My tolerance of alcohol must be at ZERO or something, lol !!_

waterlilybarb

Four drinks would have me under the table before I even got home.   I think I'm probably a 2 drink gal.  I hate feeling buzzed, and by the end of the 2nd drink I can feel it a bit, so that's my limit...even though I'm still under the legal limit.  I used to serve alcohol (as a sample girl at the liquor store) so had to take a course and be certified to be allowed to serve it.  Not a bad certification to have for casual work.

This flu is still kicking my arse.  Turns out it wasn't a relapse, it's a new strain...with earache and sore throat (including lost voice...again ) to prove it.  If it doesn't start to improve in a day or two, I'll go see the doc to make sure it's not an infection.  I hope it's not because I hate antibiotics...taking them, not the fact they exist.

I'm taking it easy today, and am logging off in a minute.  I'll veg it in front of the TV...it's easier on the eyes than the computer screen.  Enjoy the rest of your day, and I'll most likely see you tomorrow.

shinny

Haha, but this was low alcohol bottled beer, still made no difference!! I think I'll have to go back to having sparkling water when I am out.

That's awful Barb, you really have been through the mill this time. Just keep looking after yourself and it will eventually lift. You must have picked up the new bug because your immune system wasn't fully back to normal. Have you tried Echinacea tea? I find it really good for warding off colds/flus.

[ Last edited by shinny at 2-24-2008 22:59 ]

waterlilybarb

My Mum finds it helpful too...as soon as she feels a bug coming on she takes it, and it seems to work.  I've tried various types of Echinacea and none have made a bit of difference for me, unfortunately.  I'm just lucky I guess.  The bugs all find my body to be a most hospitable environment.  I'll have to start learning how to make it less so.

themegababe

I like beer,  but I can only have 1 or i feel full! haha  I quit the binge drinking days of college in my junior year.  so now i'm three drinks.  that's it! haha

12 days!  woo  (til  my wedding that is)  i'm so ready!