Down, if not out

Had an annoying bout of sinusitis last week, the aftereffects of which I'm still suffering now. My nose is all stuffed up (especially in my air-conditioned classroom), and I'm trying to wean myself off Otrivin nasal drops. A generous amount of eucalyptus, peppermint and tea tree EOs in my burner all day and night, and a hanky with a few drops of Olbas oil on my pillow, as good as they smell, aren't really cutting it. I'm also taking oral expectorant/decongestant regularly, and today I found Stérimar Sea Water Microspray at Watson's, which seems to be more comfortable (and convenient) then shooting saline up my nose with a syringe. Expensive stuff, though, so I may have to resort to (home-made) saline eventually.

Ok, enough of the gory stuff.

I've been busy on eBay in the last couple of weeks, and some of my stuff are finally showing up. Yesterday I got a new charger for my O2 XDA II, and my decants of Fleur de Narcisse and Mandarine Mandarin. Sadly, my nose doesn't allow me to smell much, so my much-anticipated MM remains unsniffed. I have more decants coming, probably in the next few days.

To celebrate my first payday in a very long time, I went to Orchard after work today. I did no great damage to my bank account. I bought a top from Mango for $49, and picked up a cute little Japan-made atomiser, a Kai lash comb with metal teeth (backup for my Tweezerman) and a mini of Christian Lacroix Tumulte Homme (the super cedary one) at Sasa. Also a set of Brabuddies from Tangs. I also checked out the L'Artisan roomsprays at Bottega Veneta, which were interesting but $110 each, and I don't really trust my nose right now.

I came home to my long-awaited soap saver from eBayer campphil. I used to have this pouch from TBS, which I eventually tossed because the drawstring opening could never close tightly enough to prevent the soap bits from falling out. That one was made of scrubby material, but this one is made from the same mesh that's used to make bath poofs, so it lathers up really well. The drawstring has a toggle and is very secure. I'm using it with my disintegrating Lush shower jelly right now.

That's not the only thing I got in the post today though. I also got a letter of rejection from an institute I applied to. While I never harboured any great hopes of getting the job, it's still quite depressing to be rejected without even an interview. I'd even e-mailed them an edited version of my MT after they requested a writing sample.

Then when I checked my e-mail, I found a rejection e-mail from the Boon Lay outfit I interviewed with the other day. Two rejections in a day is just cruel! Regardless of how I feel about long commutes, nobody likes to be rejected. I've now just about crossed out 3 of the (top!) tertiary institutions I applied to, and the disappointment is bitter and hard to swallow. I have some idea of why I wasn't accepted, but if I'm right, it's not anything I'm ashamed of. I won't say that my ego hasn't taken a battering today, though.

I'm waiting to hear from the institution in the city, the part-time one. Over there, it seems to be a matter of waiting to see if there are enough classes for every teacher who wants a position, but I don't know how they'll choose if there aren't enough. I like how they aren't unrealistically picky over there, but it also means that my MA probably doesn't count for much with them. I've met the other applicants at a staff briefing, and most of them don't seem to be TESOL specialists, in fact.

The fact is, right now, I'm not sure how far my MA will get me in Singapore. At this point, my only gain seems to be personal satisfaction. My MT result is still not out, and if it proves to be disappointing, I'm really not sure what my next move should be.

Now playing: George and Ira Gershwin in Hollywood (EMI)