more animals

I've decided to make discretion the better part of valor (if that even applies here) and cancel classes for today. I *think* I'm over the worst of it, but I still have a slight fever, and I don't think I'll be able to eat much today.

And the effort of getting a clean pair of pajamas to change into was enough that I had to sit down for a few minutes afterward. Seeing as I originally had one of the more-strenuous labs scheduled for this afternoon, I don't think I can hack that.

When I was a little younger, I probably would have guilted myself into going to class and pushed myself (and probably taken longer to get over this thing as a result). But really, I NEVER take a sick day, so I guess it's OK for me to take one now.

Well, that was a short day.

(And my blaming of the "purple carrot extract" was probably wrong).

Midway through my sole class of the day, I started to hurt. Really hurt. Bad cramps, followed by profuse perspiration and chills and weakness. I know enough anatomy to recognize that it was mainly the "big loop" (the "transverse colon," I think it's called) of the large intestine that seems to be mostly involved. With some cramping in the stomach. (Luckily, I was giving an assessment test so I didn't have to be up and talking).

I was alarmed at first - like any basically healthy person, extreme pain (and believe me, this is pretty extreme) is a very worrying thing. I went down to the office to tell my secretary that I was bailing on my office hours for today, and I described the symptoms to her.

"Oh, that," she responded. "Yeah, my daughter had that same exact thing last week, and your colleague {name redacted} just got over it. It's some kind of a virus."

So I have a diagnosis, a probable source of infection. Which saves me from doing what I was thinking of doing - going to the Urgent Care (because I tend to interpret bad pain as "some organ that I can't live without is failing"), sitting for a couple hours surrounded by people with strep and other issues, and then having the doctor tell me to go home and drink ginger ale.

Which I can do with cutting out the middle man.

So I am. I'm at home, in my jammies, with a bottle of "ginger beer" (that's what Target calls their fancy good ginger ale) next to me. And one of the delights of a wireless laptop connection is that I can set up on the coffee table and try to write the exam I was going to write today and I can also watch cartoons or old movies while I'm at it.

I'm not sick often, and I'd frankly prefer NOT being sick, but this set up makes it a bit easier.

I will try tea a little later but I think this is going to be a "just clear liquids" sort of day.