You have to be tough skinned for this job. No, seriously…

Do you guys remember how I was saying that we still had pockets of construction around here? ‘Member? Well, I had this waiting for me this morning in my e-mail:

If you have crossed the construction site on the south side of the building today go wash your clothes/shoe and skin that has come into contact with the dirt. We applied lime fly ash this morning and it will burn your skin and destroy your clothes/shoes.

Wash your clothes? How? I know I’ve complained in the past about how I felt that I lived at the school because I put in so many hours, but where am I going to wash my clothes?

Even though I didn’t cross that south side this morning, I’m still freaked out. Why? It’s because I’m a teacher, which means I have a teacher’s pay. That means that I sport a bunch of shirts with holes in them—holes created by wear and tear and not chemical burning. So when I look down at that deterioration by my shirt pocket, I panic and want to bolt for that emergency shower thingy in the chemistry lab. I know I should be more rational, but you guys know how it goes. It’s like having that first can of Coke after hearing a story of somebody finding a severed finger in theirs. You eyeball the opening and drink with trepidation.