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The Pinto Bean Syndrome

I’m not feeling very well today. I can’t breathe, my body aches and my ears are itching like crazy. I think I’m sick. I just want to curl up in my bed and moan. I rarely get sick these days. For the past six years, my job has required me to spend every day in and out of doctor’s offices. Trust me, I have been exposed to everything under the sun. Colds, coughs, vomiting, diarrhea, you name it. Remember SARS? That was such a special time to be in doctor’s offices- everyone wore their little surgical masks in the waiting room, their beady little eyes darting around, waiting for the end of the world. Good times. Due to my repeated exposure to scary germs, my immune system is stellar. However, I probably should let you know that I am a confessed recovering hypochondriac. Key word – recovering. I have to say, my lovely parents are partially to blame for this. Being an early reader, I delighted in reading anything, whether it be books or the warnings on mattress tags. Unfortunately, I got my pudgy little hands on this. At age five, many conversations with my mother were similar to this:

Me: Mommy, I don’t feel so good. My head hurts.
Mom: I’m sorry, honey. Do you have a fever? Let me get you some Children’s Tylenol.
Me: Um, I don’t think Tylenol is going to work, considering it is OBVIOUS that I have a subdural hematoma due to the persistency of the localized pain, drowsiness, and my raised intracranial pressure. Where’s my blankie?

How can I be sick? I wash my hands 20 times a day! I retraced my steps- turns out yesterday was chock-full of impending-sickness denial.

7:00am – Off to kickboxing class. So proud of myself that I am still going to my classes. This week is going to be GLORIOUS!

8:00am – Drive home from kickboxing class. Sneeze approximately 12 times in the car. See men mowing lawns in the distance- it must be an allergic reaction to the grass, right?

8:30am – 5:00pm  Daily business. Can’t believe how sore my back feels already. Usually the soreness doesn’t appear until the day after exercising. Interesting. I must have really excelled in my class today. Patting my own back. Why does my right nostril feel like a pinto bean is lodged up in there? Take a Claritin. Pray for nostril-clearing.

5:00pm – Watch CNN and clips from Oprah in New Orleans. Sob uncontrollably for 30 minutes. D rubs my back and tells me everything is going to be alright. No hope for nostril-clearing now. Use half a box of Kleenex. Major headache on the horizon. Please God, don’t let it be a subdural hematoma.

6:00pm – Microwave a Trader Joe’s cannelloni for dinner. Cannelloni could be completely rancid. Who knows? I can’t taste a damn thing.

7:00pm – The crucial moment. I’m tired. Eyes watering. Pinto beans have tripled in size. I still have THREE hours until Rockstar: INXS starts. HOW AM I GOING TO STAY UP FOR THREE MORE HOURS? Please Lord, give me the strength to stay awake for three more hours.

7:30pm – Try to focus on my Fantasy Football draft picks. Draft is within 24 hours. Try to research some players online. Can’t see the screen due to watery eyes. Fuck this.

8:00pm – I’m just going to get into bed so I can rest my body. Only two more hours to go. Watch Dateline. Start to cry. Turn off Dateline- if I cry, my sinus cavities surely will burst. Watch Laguna Beach on MTV. Check to see if I am ever in the background when they are walking around town. Nope. Eyelids are getting heavy. Sarah, FOCUS! Drink some water.

8:45pm – Fast asleep. I’m pretty sure open-mouth snoring was involved. Sorry about that, D.

So, here I am on this lovely Wednesday. Sick and very annoyed that:

1) I missed Rockstar: INXS. Was it good?
2) My Fantasy Football draft is in 7 hours and I am totally not prepared.
3) I am missing work (hahaaa- actually love this).
4) I just wrote a lengthy entry about absolutely nothing.

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13 comments
  1. SAJ

    September 7, 2005 at 11:08 am

    Oh man! Feel better quick!

  2. bishOp stu tu

    September 7, 2005 at 12:13 pm

    whOOrly gOOrl,

    when I fell kinda low…and have a snoppie nOse…I just eat some beef. then all is right with the whirled.

    tankee,

    da bishOp

  3. bishOp stu tu

    September 7, 2005 at 12:15 pm

    er…

    fell=feel. and D lOOks a leetle pinked too…cook him a porterhOUse.

    tankee and good fishing.

  4. lini

    September 7, 2005 at 12:24 pm

    Saroo, you left out one very important fact. The doctor told you early on to quit watching tv and quit reading newspapers and magazines, since you always got whatever disease was highlighted. If you were home, I would be taking very good care of you( I have had lots of practice!)

  5. ms. sizzle

    September 7, 2005 at 12:31 pm

    i am amazed that you could utter “subdermal hematoma” at the age of 5. very impressive. ;)

    sounds like you have a cold. best to not fight it. just let yourself rest so your body can stock up its immune defenses.

    the pinto bean analogy cracks me up. i think i might have to borrow that…

  6. gorillabuns

    September 7, 2005 at 7:13 pm

    you know you’ve probably got sars or the chicken thingy-flu, but you don’t eat chicken do you? or maybe it’s the west nile disease. do you have any mosquito bites?

    actually, you’re probably sick with the old stand-by sinus infection….

    my diagnosis is take the rest of this week off and maybe the next too, walk around in your pj’s, drink a bottle of wine and call me in the morning.

  7. gorillabuns

    September 7, 2005 at 7:14 pm

    oh, you didn’t really miss anything on rockstar. everyone seemed a little blah..

  8. ShooShoo

    September 7, 2005 at 11:44 pm

    Hey, don’t they run repeats of Rockstar on VH1? Hope you feel better soon… Sick sucks!

  9. Cocodrie

    September 8, 2005 at 12:41 am

    Mmmmmmm, pinto beans.

  10. Sarcomical

    September 7, 2005 at 6:54 pm

    oh girl, the repetitive sneezes are my 2-days-before-the-ACTUAL-cold sign. ack. i hope you can beat it.

    sending you virtual chicken soup… ;)

  11. Carrie

    September 8, 2005 at 8:58 am

    I hope you feel better soon. I suppose it’s not nice, but I was laughing loudly at your entry. At least the cold hasn’t affected your sense of humor or writing abilities.

  12. Mysh

    September 8, 2005 at 8:55 am

    Sending you virtual rays of get well sunshine! Take care. :O)

  13. Boogie's Mom

    September 8, 2005 at 6:11 pm

    I hope you feel better soon. I hate the flu, with the aching and tiredness and general sucky feeling.

    I’m sorry you missed Rock Star. Marty was awesome … and J.D. as much as I dislike him, was really good. He got the encore. Mig was soooo bad. I can’t believe he wasn’t in the bottom three. Poor Jordis got eliminated. While I was sad to see her go, I know she’s going to have an amazing solo career. So now I’m rooting for Marty all the way.