frustration...

so yesterday was one of the most frustrating days i´ve had in awhile. i´m trying to make my copies for the bimestral exams of both of my classes (that´s nearly 50 copies of 6 page exams)...and i´ve gotta do the let´s save the planet paper conservation thing (which i totally believe in, just not in the crunch time moments of having the lady who usually does all of that stuff out...and this being the 9millionth time i´ve tried to have a second to get it all done)....anyways, so i´m trying to get that all going, and the spanish teacher of my fifth graders comes to me and tells me that the teacher of the library class for my students isn´t available, that i need to administer their exams (for both halves of the class, which is scheduled to take up the last two hours of the day)...fantastic. no biggie. i´ll do that (which is, by the way, meaning that i´m instructing and assisting with an exam for a class that is given in spanish....not a big deal, i´ll get all of that done and then some, right?). alright, off we go. making copies, answering questions, saying "no" to talking and to the bathroom....etc. and another teacher comes in saying that she needs to make copies of a circular for the ENTIRE SCHOOL and needs to have them issued by the END OF THE DAY. funny, because my exams have to be ready to be given THIS MORNING! ni modo...gotta do it. so we share the copier, both trying to get our jobs done. successful, but literally in the last minute of the school day.

furthermore, i´ve rented a car because the one that i was borrowing is now non-functioning. i note that only because it is the third time in the four months that i have lived in ajijic that i have had issues with it (or the other "loaner" that i was issued). that can preface the frustration from fighting with the car issue.

anyways...so i rented a car from a family at the school who have it as a part of their business. so i am preparing to leave school yesterday to meet the realtor at my house to go over some important issues for the people who are coming to claim the things of the owner who died about a month ago. anyways...so i try to turn the key...and NOTHING. seriously it was like shock and a half just because it seems like everytime i set foot in a car, i have issues. okay. so i think to myself,"self, calm down...it´s the battery....go get jumper cables and you´ll be on your way." so i go back up the ginormous hill and ask the school director for his set. turns out there´s no way it could be the battery, becasue there is NO SIGN of life when i try again with the key. so i scratch that idea, pop the hood, and come to the conclusion (with the help of a male teacher) that it is due to the extensive corrosion on the battery cables that the little red car won´t start. i say, "well, okay, how about i go buy a coke and we´ll try that...then we can twist around the cable until it starts, no?" he agrees that that´s our best option and i´m off to the races.

come back, and sure enough, that was the answer. i´m on my merry way. i go pick up rica because we´re supposed to be going to eat (which isn´t gonna happen now, but i haven´t been able to contact him because in the middle of all of this my cell phone decides that it doesn´t want to work anymore and won´t allow me to call or send messages). so i swing by there and as i do, the car dies again. he helps me get the thing tightened enough, however, the issue is that this isn´t hte first time, the cable is completely tightened as much as it can possibly be tightened. it´s the looseness of it on the battery...it´s not connecting like it should be.

so we take off to go to my house so that i can hopefully catch the realtor. on the way, i´m passing through a yellow light, and the cop in the intersection literally throws his body in front of my car. i couldn´t very well just slam on the brakes and stop, so i proceeded through the intersection. i hadn´t done anything wrong and i couldn´t slam on the brakes fast enough. i think when he turned and saw me he sort of just reacted in fear...becasue it was close to him and it scared him. however, a few minutes later, he comes speeding behind me in his little motorcycle...and pulls me over. rica argues with him for awhile and i explain to him that when i proceeded, i was following complete legal specifications. when his body turned, yes, he signaled me to stop, but that wasn´t a possibility at that point. i was already passing him. and he went on to throw himself out in front of me. he didn´t like that very much and demanded all of the paperwork. i gave it to him and he came back with a ticket. lovely.

we proceed to the house. susan was still there thankfully. and i showed her all of my belongings as to those that are of the now deceased home owner. that didn´t take long and finally we could go eat. it was now around 4something. we changed to go to the gym, and on the way, rica went to roll down the window...and it literally crashed to the bottom of the door frame. it was off of the track, i suppose, but it was in that moment that i almost just lost it. i almost just broke down....tears begged to fall. it was the end of what had been a fantastically frustrating day. everything, it seemed, went wrong. my kids were out of control. nothing was right at school. everything and their sister was freaking out in reference to the car. nothing wanted to work. nothing.

but then....somehow. it really didn´t matter. it was just time. it was just money. it was just a day. and tomorrow...would be a different day. i took my time driving the car back to ajijic. i looked at the christmas lights. i ordered the pizza for my kids´ surprise pizza party after their exams today. i watched a movie. i rested. i took a hot shower. and that was that. it was over. everything that happened can be fixed. everything that went wrong can go right the next time...or maybe not...but there´s that chance at least. and it was okay.

su abrazo me dio bastante seguridad. sus palabras me hicieron calmada. sus cariños me hicieron volar. estoy agradecida por su manera de hablar, de ser, de vivir, de acompañarme. es un regalo.

and today´s a totally different thing. it´s new. it´s okay. i´m glad for frustrating days that test my patience. i don´t like them because they´re not easy, but they´re truly a gift because they´re the things that make you realize what´s really important. none of the materialistic things really...the relationship back and forth...with my co-workers and my friends....with my students and my directors. yeah. it was a good day for me....i keep learning. more and more and more. :)