It happened ...

As I knew I would, eventually,  I locked myself out of my apartment today.

First, I need to explain about my key.  My key is a card like they have in hotels that you touch to the door and it opens your unit (and the building, laundry room, terrace, etc.).  Once I'm in my apartment, I have to put it in a little slot and that controls the lights and the electricity.  So it's not something I can just leave by the door and grab on my way out.  I have a little note on the door that says "Key?" to remind me to grab it.  But obviously it didn't work this time.

I was doing laundry downstairs and the change machine wasn't working and I was one coin short, so I ran back up to my apartment, put the key in the slot to turn the lights on so I could see, and then ran back out the door ... with no key.

So then I went up to a co-worker's apartment and asked to borrow her phone to call the locksmith ... Negotiating a locksmith is not my favorite thing to do in English, but in Spanish it's a particular trick.

But I managed to do it, miracle of miracles.

---------------

The weather here has been particularly terrible -- 80-100 mph winds, hail and torrential rain -- leaving me holed up in my apartment.  This is probably good because I have a ton of work to do before I leave (5 days!!!) and packing, a billion other errands, etc.

---------------

I'm still coughing my face off, though feeling much more human in general.  I won't complain about a little coughing as long as I'm not horizontal for days at a time.

Next time, update about my crazy workplace.

Some things

• We had our work Christmas dinner last night, which confirmed I work in the weirdest place ever.  More on that in another post.

• I am still sick.  Of course.  I am mostly just coughing now, which is fine with me since I don't actually FEEL sick.  Until I lie down to go to bed at night, then all the congestion hits me and I cough until 3 am.  Yay!  I'm still hopeful that I can shake this by next week.

• Oh, yeah ... next week at this time I will be home, sleeping in my Chicago bed.  Can't wait.

• It is hard for it to feel like Christmas when it's 60 degrees outside.  How do people in warm and temperate climates ever know what time of year it is?  Because it's pretty much felt like April since I got here.  Except for those few hot days in the summer.  The only real difference is the amount of daylight we have.  And the fact that it is super windy and there are incredible crazy, crazy waves.  Crazy as in 1-2 stories tall. 

• To counteract the whole "doesn't feel like Christmas" thing, I've started listening to Christmas music while working.  Since music affects my dreams, I've been having crazy Christmas dreams. 

• Keep thinking good thoughts/saying prayers/etc. about job stuff.  News will continue rolling in until Christmas, then I get a week to breathe before more waiting.  As everyone who knows me knows, I am not a patient person, so this whole waiting thing is really the pits.  I'm still hopeful, though!

Update

So, I did not die from my sickness, though I will say it was the sickest I remember being in my adult life.  It started with a cold, morphed into a stomach bug (stomach MONSTER more accurately) with a fever, and slowly slid back to cold territory.  My stomach is mostly back to normal now, about a week later, but the cold is hanging on.  I'm mostly okay with the cold, since it does not involve me needing to sprint to the bathroom 10-20 times a day.

Things here are crazy, since I missed two and half days of work last week with the Stomach Monster and fever.  I had a friend come visit this weekend, which was great, but between the sickness and the visit, I started the week exhausted.  Fortunately, this week was another weird Spanish holiday week.  Our office was closed both Tuesday and Thursday.  But this also meant that the other days were packed with meetings.  All of this means I've gotten next to nothing done for the past two weeks and only have 8 working days before I go back to Chicago.  I'd love to have a mostly work-free holiday season, but I don't think that is in the cards!

Speaking of holidays, Spain has finally gotten in the Christmas spirit, with lights and trees.  It's a little hard to feel the Christmas spirit when it is 60 degrees and sunny, but I am not complaining at all.  In fact, it has not taken long for me to lose my winter toughness developed after 28 winters in the midwest and New England.  Yesterday, I was walking downtown and said, "It is so cold!!  I'm freezing."  Then I saw that the temperature clock read 9 degrees (Celsius) which is, oh, right around 49 degrees Fahrenheit.  In other words?  Not cold.  At all.  But apparently I'm a baby now.

In other Christmas news, apparently no Christmas decorations are complete here in the Basque Country without a giant inflatable Olentzero sitting atop the McDo.  What's that you say?  You've never heard of Olentzero?  A Basque version of Santa Claus?  Well, get reading:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olentzero (Research courtesy of my friend Charlotte).  I would also suggest you check out his song:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLP6xWCanCw If you are too lazy to check out the links, here is the basic story:  Olentzero is a giant (or maybe not a giant, but a big, strong guy who burns charcoal and maybe died in a fire and was then granted eternal life) who brings presents to children typically on Christmas Eve.  He is also possibly a drunk.  Oh, and the best part?  He walks around with a sickle and if you are a child who refuses to go to sleep, or anyone who breaks the fast on Christmas Eve, Olentzero comes to visit you, not to bring presents, but rather to cut your throat out with a sickle.  Because obviously no Christmas story is complete without a terrifying, possibly giant, possibly drunk man sneaking into your house to cut your throat out with a sickle.

You should really, really read the article because it has the lyrics and the translation to one of the Olentzero Songs - as a teaser, it does involve:  Our Olentzero / we can't sate him / he has eaten whole / ten piglets. / Ribs and pork loin / so many intestines / because Jesus is born / have mercy.  


I mean, honestly, how can you not love the Basque people for coming up with this?  It is way better than a sleigh.


Finally, good thoughts and prayers are still appreciated regarding the job market.  News is starting to trickle out and I've had both good and bad pieces of news.  I'm hoping to take some time off worrying about jobs over the break, but I wouldn't mind hearing some more good news before Christmas.  All I want for Christmas is a job doing what I've spent 7+ years training to do in the same country my husband lives in.  Not so much to ask, is it?