Karoshi

A

re we created to withstand whatever God throws our way? Are we made to endure the insults of man and nature? These are the questions men and women probably ask when they feel overworked and overlooked. And probably just before they die of overwork. In Japanese, this phenomenon is called karoshi (ka-roh-shi), todays Japanese word.

A colleague of mine is off to a conference giving a paper and so I was asked to cover one of her courses. I, of course, being the eager, younger, and most importantly junior colleague, was happy to accept. So this week I am saddled with extra work. Not just the lecture course for second year Japanese, but the homework that comes with it. Naturally, I am still responsible for my other four classes--Literary Japanese, Readings in Modern Japanese, Japanese Literature in Translation, and the Proseminar. I wonder what the the dean is thinking? Does he not see a discrepancy between departments where the workload is double in one compared to the other? Does he view the situation as equitable?

Oh, well. Complaining gets boring, ranting becomes tedious. Anything I say here will amount to nothing, and it doesn't even satisfy anymore. There was a time when writing about these issues gave me a measure of relief, but recently it does not happen. So ultimately, it is a waste of time.

I think I will work on another joke. Eechim's was pretty bad... hahahaha, but funny nonetheless. Ikerton sent one too and it was kinda cute, but just bad enough to keep protected. I will post it soon, so be on the watch of joke alerts. Swinging Sam will be coming soon, but I need a female volunteer to do the voice. Any takers? Hahahahha.