My Sick Routine
I LOVE this dance routine…totally sick!
Destini and Jamille performing to “Shake” by Ying Yang Twins, choreography by Shane Sparks
Nope, this isn’t a posting about some cool dance moves of mine…sorry! Although I should check my friends’ old video tapes of archived hip hop footage of us from way back in the day. Hopefully our choreography doesn’t look too, um, sophomoric (literally…1997!) now. But if you want a dance fix, do what I do and watch the above clip a few times in a row…so hot!!!
I was sick this past weekend. =( Friday night I felt under the weather, but I figured my fatigue was due to a long work week, so I still went out. I finally got to watch The Go! Team (I missed them last time they were in town) in concert at Mezzanine. It was kind of funny because I used to work just a few buildings away from the venue during my Arup days and had always wanted to walk over after work to watch a concert or go clubbing but never did. Now that I’ve been inside and have seen what a nice place Mezzanine is, I really regret wasting that convenient proximity!
The band was totally entertaining and fun as expected. The lead singer has this nonstop dancing energy I just love and I really like how over the course of the entire concert, practically all the band members took turns playing all the different instruments! In this day and age of limited musical education in our schools, one has to admire such versatility and talent. =)
Oh, and the DJ who was spinning during the preshow and intermission…SO good. He spun different genres from chill downtempo to old school hiphop to good 80s (yes bad 80s music does exist) to ambient to memorable rock…a whole crazy, lovely musical journey. And he mixes well…all his transitions were very smooth and tight. I don’t hear that kind of prowess very often anymore. I have got to find out where else this guy spins!
Anyway, when I woke up Saturday morning…I was completely sick! And of course, with my luck, it was a simply gorgeous summer day outside. What is it with me being stuck indoors on beautiful days?! Grrr… I spent the rest of the weekend trying to get better and fortunately was able to work on Monday (I’ve got too much on my plate to be sick right now!) so I guess I had some kind of quick 48 hour bug. But sitting at home all weekend coping with being sick got me thinking about what my “routine” is when I am ill.
I’m sure vague scientific research somewhere will support my theory that when one is sick, one always seems to revert to some ingrained routine of reaction and treatment. Some really independent people become giant babies while others demand a dark room and absolute silence. Still others will be in complete denial of the illness and do nothing while there are those who immediately get heavily medicated. But no matter how or what you’re like when you are ill, I bet you go through the same process each and every time.
I’m not the super fussy type of patient who get whiny and needs her pillow fluffed every three seconds. Nor do I go out of my way to prove that I am “totally fine” while hacking up a lung. I also try to not take medicine unless absolutely necessary…I’m just not a fan of being doped up. What I do get particular about is my food. When I’m ill, I like to eat all the things I ate as a sick kid. I suppose since I’m far from home, it’s comforting to “regress” with old familiar habits. Since I can’t get my mom’s TLC here, food is the next best thing!
High on my things-to-eat-when-sick list is Ritz crackers and bananas. No other cracker hits the spot…it has to be Ritz and it has to be with bananas. As a kid, I would eat this combination all the time, not just when I was sick. But now as an adult, pretty much the only time I eat these two together is when I’m ill. I guess being sick triggers some kind of craving for them!
I really like drinking mint tea with some sugar or honey. In a perfect world, I would drink this one particular brand of German mint tea (oh Alpine Village how I miss thee!) but I have no idea how to buy it here in the Bay Area. If any of you reading this has a German grocery hookup, let me know! I acquired this favorite from my dad…it’s a holdover from the decade he spent living in Germany. Sehr gut Vater!
I also like eating toast and soup together. Like many people, I have a fondness for chicken noodle, although it doesn’t have to be a specific kind. Fortunately, over the years of much cooking and occasional colds/flus, I have mastered making a very yummy homemade chicken noodle soup that’s actually pretty easy to cook. And yes, I can certainly make a pot for you sometime. =)
The dish I really crave when I’m sick is chao. That’s Vietnamese for porridge/congee/jook/etc. But not just any chao…I want my parents’ chao long. I can do an okay approximation of the dish (because you know, we’ll never be able to make it just like our mom/dad does) but when I’m sick, no can do. My parents’ chao long requires a fair amount of work to make these special mini-meatballs, chop up all the other meat, and then sit over a hot stove stirring the pot for some time (it’s easy to burn the bottom, unlike regular soup). Obviously, when one is sick, barely coherent, and half falling off the bed/couch/comfy horizontal surface, advanced Asian cooking is a bit out of reach. So, every time I’ve been sick these past seven years in SF, I’ve always suffered through this craving. =(
Fortunately I didn’t have a cough or very sore throat this time around, but when I do, I have this thing about sucking on lemon wedges with salt. I didn’t even like it much when I was young, but I guess it’s just a comforting habit now. Also, if I have to take a cold/flu syrup, it’s always Robitussin if I have a cough or chills and Triaminic (the orange flavor) if I’m feverish or congested. I remember being reluctant to take Robitussin (oh, watch Chris Rock’s hysterical bit on “Tussin”) when I was young because of its bitter taste, but I would get really excited if my parents decided I needed Triaminic…that stuff must be 99.99% pure sugar! Heh heh…
I think those are my only real requests when I’m sick. Other things like room temperature, how much light/darkness is required, being alone or with company, noise level, etc….I don’t have a specific preference. I like to think that I am pretty easy-going in general, whether I am healthy or not! It figures though that my particular preferences would revolve around food…so true to my character, eh? What about you…what is your sick routine?
