Being Sick is Zero Fun

What? What's this? Another post on the same day...gee Carson must really be motivated...or really bored. Well this isn't going to be a very cheery post, I'm sorry. It's all about me being sick. It's a rant...so prepare yourself. But on the bright side: check out the sweet "sore throat" clipart I found online!

Being sick is no fun. What started as a mild throat irritation last Sunday has turned into a full blown cold. I know, I know..."a cold?"...big deal...but I am a guy and traditionally guys tend to overreact when they come down with a cold...so I'm just fitting into the stereotype, that's all.

I'm hot...then cold, I'm sweaty, I'm exhausted, I'm coughing, I'm sneezing, frankly...I'm unattractive.

The other night I woke up coughing uncontrollably so I took a cough drop thinking it would help. It didn't. I actually started choking on the cough drop and finally swallowed it whole. The whole time I was just thinking...I could choke to death here in my cabin in the middle of the night and nobody would be able to help me. This bites.

Friends have called and written me this last week, but I have barely enough energy to drag myself back through the cabin door every night, let alone to carry on a conversation with someone.

Work has been miserable since it involves quite a bit of verbal communication. Fortunately, I've gotten to work outside on bike rentals the last few nights which isn't quite so bad. I actually like doing it since it makes me feel like a carnie (carnival person). I sit there in my little wooden hut with a sign hanging in front of me that reads "Bike Rentals: Single Seaters- $7 for 1/2 hour, Multi Seaters- $10 for 1/2 hour." It's great. I just sit there and stare as people walk on by and take their money when they want to go for a ride.

I know my sore throat has affected my speech...I can tell by the way customers stare at me. They're thinking, "What's wrong with this guy's voice?!" I mutter my usual mantra: "This rental is just for 1/2 hour, here's a flag, have fun, and please don't get hit by a car" (when there are accidents that tends to reflect poorly on myself). I then push their bike out onto the road. After a few wobbly pedals they're on their way. What's even worse than my speech is when I try to swallow mid-sentence. I watch as the children's eyes widen in horror as they watch me try to swallow my own saliva which I imagine looks more like I'm trying to swallow a jagged little pill (yes, I did just reference an Alanis Morissette album, deal with it).

I'm surviving on a steady diet of DayQuil and Cool Ranch Doritos. Okay, actually I've tried to overload on Vitamin C by eating plenty of fruit and chugging down the Sunny D. So far, I've gone through two boxes of cold medicine and have finished off a bottle of Nyquil with no signs of improvement. The labels on the medicine say that if the symptoms continue for over 7 days you should consult a physician.

I'm fairly certain that some sort of antibiotic would successfully kill whatever has set-up camp in my throat. So, if my throat isn't feeling better by tomorrow I'm going to the clinic in town. I'm worried it might be strep throat again...I tend to get it fairly frequently...then again, maybe it's swine flu...I just heard that they have confirmed cases of it in Montana now. I know, I know, I'm over-reacting....I'm just thinking over all the possibilities. Whatever this is that has infected my body, and made me sound like a fool...I just hope it's gone soon.