sickness in chicago

today i am sick. i've not been sick for quite awhile (and i've taken much pride in that), but, alas, the massive amounts of germs i experience daily in chicago mass transit have gotten the best of me.

of course, i wondered if i had h1n1 because the symptoms were similar (you know, the same symptoms that any cold or flu have...). so i could have it, but who knows. i mainly am tired and achy with a super sore throat and icky cough.

the most disappointing part of this sickness was the part in which i stayed home from my internship today, thus missing out on interacting with my favorite ethiopian client and a new burmese elderly man... but i am glad they have one less germ for their systems to fight off.

the best part of this sickness was that i got a massage today. yes, a massage. i forgot to mention this to my parents on the phone, so my apologies to them! i was torn about getting this massage because i did skip my internship... so i should stay home and snuggle in my sick-germy sheets. but, my muscles were aching. and, i have heard that if you do not experience enough human touch in a day, your immune system goes down. so, i thought i would alleviate the aching and give my system a boost (though i'm not sure how probable that theory is... i'm more than willing to try it out :).

anyway, this massage, like my other chicago experiences, was not typical. i made the appointment online (which, is wonderful feature of any salon) and i knew my masseuse's name was Randy. i assumed this was a guy, but i assumed he would be rather feminine and stylish (much like most men in this neighborhood).

i was wrong.

randy, looks like a huge, hawaiian-african football player. he could have easily mushed me up into a ball instead of massaging my aching muscles.

but, he was very professional, polite and did an excellent job alleviating my pains.

after that, my day was thrilling and involved these other activities: coughing into my scarf, switching between my fleece bathrobe and fleece jacket, checking facebook, drinking tea, drinking more tea, eating rice and toast and watching the office (oh, and also having some good phone conversations with loved ones).