EVIL be gone.

As if you didn't already know.... I'm kind of a Journey fan - especially since they hired their new lead singer Arnel Pineda a while back. I lifted this photo from someone's facebook page and I can't seem to remember whose. Oh well. Just know it was stolen. I love this photo. I'd love to be sitting at that Peet's Cafe, sipping my latte, and gazing at this STOP sign.

I've been out of commission the past few days because on Saturday I woke up with a funny feeling in my head and body. I knew I was coming down with something. Unfortunately, San Francisco was having their big trend show, so I couldn't call in sick. We were already short-handed, so I had to show up and take one for the team. Since my sister was working and said she had to leave early, I figured I could leave early too if I wasn't feeling up to it.

By 11am I could tell that I was going to fall over any minute. I wasn't feeling too hot and even my sister told me I looked like death. It's not a becoming look when you're trying to sell skincare. Anyway...

I have this theory about being sick... I feel like when I get sick it's my body's way of telling me to slow down or to take extra special care of myself because of something. In truth, I don't know why I got sick. There's no reason for me to get sick. I don't even know where it came from. I do know that I just needed rest.

I ended up leaving work at 2:30, took bart home, helped my sister run her errands, picked up soup, and nursed myself through the weekend. As I get older, I've mastered certain ways of nursing myself while sick. I'm not saying that you do the same thing, I'm just saying that this is how I do it...

(1) I've stopped using cold medicine. I know lots of people who swear by NyQuil, DayQuil, Contact, and the like. I decided a long time ago that there is no profit in curing the common cold. The profit is in suppressing it enough to make you feel better, that you keep taking the drugs. These days, I just let the sickness (which I will refer to as EVIL from here on out) run its course. If nursed well, EVIL will run its course faster than you think. So how do I nurse the EVIL out of me? I stop using cold medicine. Instead, I opt for Zicam or echinacea (or both) and I top that with some patience.

(2) Drink lots of fluids. For me, that means lots of water, water mixed with Emergen-C, and hot tea. (This also means a lot of bathroom trips. The goal here is to drink enough fluids that my urine is clear. It lets me know that the EVIL is coming out.) For the record, tea has to be loose leaf. The crap they serve you at Starbucks just sucks and is best for tip #5. Gross tea makes my throat ache. Loose leaf is best because it's the closest thing to "fresh" tea. It tastes clean and goes down smooth. Dried teas (for me) irritate my throat. I don't do juice because I'm diabetic. But if you're a juice person, then juice up.

(3) Avoid dairy, especially if I'm congested. My chiropractor once told me to do this because there's something about dairy that makes you more mucous-y. I never asked for details. I just took his word. It works so far.

(4)I try to eat as I normally would (but avoid dairy and cheese). In particular, I eat soup! My "get sick" favorites are: hot and sour soup and wor won ton soup (sans the won ton with extra veggies; I know it's weird) from Dragon House in Union City. If you haven't eaten at Dragon House, you should. It's great, cheap, Chinese food. I also like kim chee jigae from your local Korean place. The best I've had it is at this restaurant in Berkeley, but I'm not driving all the way over there for it. The last thing I recommend is pho (sans the noodles, maxed out on the jalapenos). Sometimes when I'm sick, my appetite isn't up. This just means I have to make a conscious effort to eat even the smallest meals. I find if I don't eat, I get weak and tired. This is a "not eating" thing, not a "sick" thing. I try to differentiate the two.

(5) If I'm having throat issues, I make some tea and wait for it to cool down enough to gurgle. I ten add salt (say like a teaspoon or two) to it and do the gurgle-and-spit routine until I'm at the end of the cup. I do this at least twice a day. I find it helps with the chest congestion for some reason.

(6) Get lots of REST! Watch TV. Stay away from the computer. Read something trashy. Just stay in bed.

(7) When all better, I change out my toothbrush! There's tons of bacteria lurking in toothbrushes, so when I get better, I change it out.

That's how I shake the EVIL out of me.