The Sick Day

Being sick.

Of course it's something that everyone experiences, some more often than others. And it's definitely something we all handle in different ways.

I'm usually a really pathetic sick person. I have no problem recognizing that fact. My motivation disappears and I eventually find myself sitting in a sickly daze, my mouth hanging open because I can't breathe through my nose, sniffling occasionally, coughing slightly, most likely wrapped up in a blanket. Depending on how sick I am, I may or may not be able to hold a conversation. My brain function generally seems to slow by about 50%, especially if my ears are clogged up and I therefore can't hear very well. Someone will say something to me and I don't register it until an awkward amount of silence has presented itself, after which I either process and respond or have to ask the speaker to repeat the question or statement. I warned my roommate about this last night - she asked me a question and I had no clue what she said. I still don't really remember what it was, even after she repeated it for me. But she's patient, which is helpful. I think she also finds it kind of amusing, honestly. Maybe...

When I'm sick at school, the two biggest problems seem to be:

1) do I go to class? and
2) what do I eat?!

The answer to the prior is always determined by multiple factors, on the class's part and on mine.
     Class: difficulty, importance, availability of lecture notes, attendance policy
     Mine: presence and intensity of runny nose and cough, presence of fever, ability to stay awake, and ability to focus.

Runny nose and cough have been making their appearance, but fortunately fever has stayed at bay. So what about class-wise? This morning the need to sleep won over the need to go to class. Plus I only have one class on Mondays, and my professor has a college-age son, so she's very understanding of the being-sick-and-needing-to-sleep thing. She's awesome. Tomorrow I think will merit skipping the first class - it's not terribly difficult, nor terribly important, lecture notes are available online, and the attendance policy is pretty lenient. Plus I haven't had an absence yet, so one won't penalize me. The others, however, will merit attendance. But that's okay, I definitely feel better tonight than I did last night.

So, food... I never know what to eat. Well, besides soup, because soup is a "duh" when it comes to sickliness. I always stock up on juice - orange juice and pineapple juice mostly. I'm also a fan of those Bolthouse Farms smoothies, but I get those anyway, not just when I'm sick. Then of course I've gotta get that fruit. And... actually, I feel like that's about all I end up eating. Soup. Juice. Fruit. Yeah, sounds about right. Maybe the occasional PB&J.

Well, that's about all. If you didn't catch on, I got sick this weekend, and that's what inspired today's topic - the sick day. Tomorrow will be a half-sick day. Hopefully Wednesday will be yet a smaller fraction of a sick day. I hope you all are doing well and staying healthy.

Drink juice! Get sleep! Peace out!