On my guardian Kumamon and nasty colds

I've set Friday as the magical day where unless my sleeping problems have cleared up, I need to go to the doctor's office. Three weeks of insomnia is fucking me up. I have a massive cold and there's just no energy anywhere in my system. I miss sleeping well. It was one of those things I was really good at. Last night I slept in two not very restful four-hour shifts, not falling asleep until 1 a.m. and then waking up at 5 and 9, feeling like I've been run over by a truck. I was kinda hoping this would have gone away with the removal of the mental stress surrounding the whole situation with Moonlight, but I guess I need to slow down even more on... well, everything to get my life back on track. It's pretty exhausting.


Calling Karate wife to get her to agree to sign my letter of reference poses some interesting physical changes in my body. Sitting there with phone in hand, I gradually feel my heart start thumping like crazy, followed by shakes and a sick feeling in my stomach. Surely not everyone reacts the same way I do to a simple phone call, but I find them extremely intimidating, especially when they have to be done in Japanese. Karate wife is an absolute sweetheart, but she talks at lightening speed and uses a lot of difficult words, so sometimes I'm a little slow on the uptake. I guess we compliment eachother, because I was only half-way through my opening monologue about reference letters (that I'd rehearsed a thousand times before to make the more difficult words flow in a way that seemed more natural), going: "Well, as you know, I'm applying for jobs in Japan and they asked for a reference. Since you and Karate Husband have taken such good care of me, if it isn't too much trouble..." when she jumped in with a "Of course we'll write one for you! What do you want in it?" and making plans to meet to talk about it later ("What time were you thinking about coming over to the restaurant? I'll wait for you!" which led me to run pretty much all the way, because shit, you don't leave your boss' wife waiting). To my great relief she marvelled over the letter Mafune had helped me write along with the plastic folder featuring Kumamon that I'd put it in, signing that instead of writing her own, and telling me that if I needed any help at all with anything else, to not hesitate to ask. After thanking her profusely,we chatted a bit about the job I'd applied for, and I told her about the upcoming second interview and that I was nervous about it. "NotAWeeaboo-chan!" she called as I was leaving. "Don't be nervous. You've got Kumamon to look after you!" Cue happy smiles and a good mood.

Kumamon celebrating having vanquished my enemies.

I really shouldn't be at work right now though. I go around constantly feeling a little sick to my stomach, and my throat hurts at every possible moment. I also can't really breathe through my nose, not can I breathe normally but keep taking short shallow gasps instead. It's not pretty. I feel like a zombie moving around the restaurant. The thing is, I feel guilty at the thought of asking someone to cover for me. I had one of the Swedish girls cover for me on Monday, and Mafune covered for me last Monday, not to mention that she helped me out with my reference writing. "Well, when you're sick, you're sick!" people tell me, but I'm sick all the time. I guess that's a sign my body's not happy (apart from the millions of other signs it's throwing my way), but it makes me feel like a lazy ass for not being able to uphold a schedule.