Break is over

I feel ever so slightly cheated about break.


1.  I caught a cold Sunday and was not doing very well Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. So I couldn't do much. My mom commented, "Wouldn't it be harder to be sick when classes are in session?" but yeah, I could have gone in and done the basics of what I needed to do (I probably would have taken a sick day Wednesday) and then gone home and watched old movies on the tv. It's not quite as fun when you're supposed to be on break and having fun.

2. Wednesday night we went to the local-to-them Greek diner (which is currently run by Lebanese immigrants...) I decided to splurge a little, sodium-wise (and I wasn't otherwise very hungry) so I got scrambled eggs with a side of gyros meat.

Well. There's something in gyros meat I'm sensitive to. And I now know that one variety of hives I get is "oral allergy syndrome" - about an hour after dinner, I started getting bumps inside my mouth and they swelled BADLY overnight. (The good news is that in most cases, oral allergy syndrome never progresses to anaphylaxis). But I was miserable because my face hurt and I was miserable because I looked ridiculous*

And I don't know what it was. A quick scan of the gyros meat available in the freezer at the grocery didn't turn anything up. (Well, it has MSG, but I've never reacted to MSG before).  Maybe there's celery in those mysterious "natural flavors." Sigh. I hate being allergic to stuff. (And in my bleaker moods, I wonder if I'll keep developing new food sensitivities until all that's left is lamb, rice, and green beans....supposedly three of the least-allergenic foods)

It can't be that bizarre meat allergy people get from tick bites, because I ate steak on the train last night and was FINE. So it's probably a seasoning in the gyro, but most of the gyro-meat-producing companies are absolutely closed-mouthed about what's in them, other than "beef and lamb and seasonings."

(I SUPPOSE it could have been the cucumber in the tiny bite of tzatziki sauce I tried and then decided I didn't like. Or, I suppose it's possible (though unlikely; I think this was commercial gyros loaf) that sumac was a seasoning, and I am sensitive to other sumac-family things (mangoes, cashews, pistachios**)

But, gah. I hate this. I can't go and get a skin test because that requires several days without any antihistamines and I don't know if I could cope with several days of bad hives (the antihistamines normally keeps them under control) before going and doing that. And I COULD do an elimination diet trial, but that's a lot of work (I tried sort of a casual one before going and getting treated for the hives, but gave up before I tried eliminating dairy- nothing seemed to make a difference other than the stuff I already knew bothered me like carrots and raw melon and some squash and cashews)

(*"You made me look ridiculous!" (deep voice) "You made me SOUND ridiculous")

(** I suppose that's another value in learning botany, sigh. You know what ELSE you can't eat because it's in the same family as something that bothers you. Then again, there's also stuff that cross-reacts, like birch pollen and melons)


So anyway. Not the best break ever. I didn't do much other than stay home....

I did get some knitting done and I read a few books.