As I mentioned yesterday, I was struggling to deal with a pretty intense cold while also trying to study for my 4 upcoming exams. No matter how much I read or what I studied, nothing was sinking in at all.
I had used up all of my sinus medication during the day on Saturday. Heading into the evening, with the pharmacy closed, I had no choice-if I wanted to sleep-but to take the sinus medicine that had expired 6 months ago. Uggh. The kind of thing I'll do once. (But I'm still here to talk about it so maybe it wasn't too bad.)
Yesterday, I decided that I didn't want to do that again, and headed off to the pharmacy. I also wanted to find a way to deal with my lack of concentration and memory. (This for a guy who usually has better memory than most elephants. Obviously, the exhaustion from the term has worn down my memory.)
The first solution was to buy some new sinus medication. Natch.
The second solution was a bit more complicated. For the first time in my life, I actually found myself looking for caffeine pills! And just my luck, I couldn't find any. Oh well. One more thing I will have never done.
Moving right along, I went to the herbal products section. I found some French stuff and decided not to buy it. Not because of any conscious effort to boycott the French per se (though William Safire can think of new reasons why), but because the product only promised changes in 3 months- and I need enhanced memory right now. Eventually, I came upon some Chinese Gingko stuff which is supposed to enhance alertness and memory right away. Ka-ching!
Once home, I assembled my drug cocktail. One Gingko pill, one Sinus pill, two echinacea pills, two Motrin pain relievers, and one horse-pill full of anti-stress vitamins. Within two gulps, it all went down the hatch. Followed by a couple of shots of ventolin for my wheezing and I was on my way to being pretty hopped up !
Within about an hour, I started getting a pretty crazy fever, and Marie-Claude put me to bed for a nap. Over the next 3 hours I alternated between shivering and sweating while Marie-Claude left me at home with the dog. Round about 4:30, I dragged myself out of bed. Slowly, the shivers and the sweat went a way. I watched a movie. I tried studying a bit but that didn't work either. So I got dressed and went to the convenience store where I bought a 1L bottle of Pepsi, 2 bottles of iced tea and two chocolate bars.
Good food in hand, I managed to study a bit. I was actually so wired for sound that I couldn't get to bed until midnight. I played video games for almost 4 hours last night.
Today, I feel free much better. Brain lesions, stomach and mouth ulcers, acute tunnel vision, strep throat aside, I feel pretty good. I have studied for one exam, am currently studying for another, with a third to follow this evening, proving that my solution worked. Who says guys don't know how to take care of themselves?
'Nuff said.
PS: this is the kind of story that gives my mom (and my aunt) fits. Oh, and my wife too. Hehe.