Ups and Downs Monday and Tuesday

I did my laundry at my parents’ place as usual on Sunday morning and caught a cold from my family, suffering through it myself on Monday. (Although, I do have a tissue in my hand as I type this Tuesday evening.) Luckily, I was off, from both jobs, as I just started at my part-time gig on Sunday. Waking up on Tuesday, my first thought was that I felt better, and then… I moved. Oh the pain! I somehow threw my back out. Every time I moved and it involved a muscle in my lower back, I felt severe pain. I took some generic reliever that my parents have given me after I had oral surgery just after 6 AM. Without the bottle, I waited a bit to call them to ask when I could take another dose. I am so grateful to my mom who came over twice today. First, to deliver more pain reliever and tissues since I was running low, to make me some breakfast, to make sure I was comfortable and to pick up things I had dropped on the floor since I was pretty much unable! Then, to have a fast food lunch (which is a rare thing anymore) with me. …and apparently to stock my bare cabinets and fridge with food from her overflowing ones. I called out sick from work and gave my boss at my part-time job a head’s up since the plan was that I was to help with a shipment of luggage Wednesday night. All my other coworkers there just quit with little or no notice, so I felt bad for my new employer. Fortunately, she is hiring someone already. Anyway, I did feel a bit better within the first hour of my first dose and then even better, yet not back to normal, after I woke up from a nap at 4. I hope I can work both jobs tomorrow! If not, I will be at the doctor’s.

I try to look on the bright side of things. Here are the little things that made me happy over these past two trying days… Out to pick up some more cold medicine Monday morning, I also treated myself to Panera, a cappuccino and chocolate pastry. As this is becoming more and more infrequent, usually I sit in their cafe sipping from a real mug and read a book, making it a nice experience, but this time, I got it to go, back to the comfort of my apartment. (With Panera one day and Hardees the next, I feel like I need more vegetables!) I also read a book pretty much over the last two days, An Italian Affair by Laura Fraser. It was good… part novel about an affair, part travel narrative about all the places in the world where they rendezvous-ed. I thought it odd that it was written in the second person though… Not a big TV viewer, I did enjoy an episode of House Hunters International set in Bologna, Italy. I wouldn’t mind living in this college town lined with porticoes made for strolling myself… Here’s a four minute clip of it: Hitting the Books In Italy.