112... the Spanish 911

I am seriously ill.

I have diagnosed myself with a severe case of spring-semester-is-almost-over blues with a slight infection of yearning-for-summeritis with occasional stabbing why-does-April-have-to-be-so-dreary pains in my stomach.

Symptoms include but are not limited to: complete lack of motivation or energy, loss of words in all languages both previously studied and currently studying, unintentional wetblanketting of general enthusiasm and enjoyment of others, amplified bitterness toward strangers (side warning: avoid crowded places underground, places such as metro trains and stations where old people walk slowly in front of you), and extreme thirst.

As you can see, I am a very ill human.

They tried to talk me out of coming to class to avoid infecting others, but I refused. I am paying enough for these classes and so I have to come no matter how sniffly I may be or no matter how many times we go over the pretérito perfecto de indicativo tense because somehow people still don´t get it.

These illnesses are like scarlet fever, you can rid yourself of the symptoms but they never leave you. They always sit crouched somewhere around your intestinal region ready to come at you like a spider monkey and infect every cell and tissue of your physical self at the drop of a hat.

It´s also like the flu because you don´t notice you have it until one day you wake up and feel like you´ve been hit by a bus. Unlike the flu, however, there is no shot to be had that will prevent it (except sometimes tequila).

It is very sneaky, this spring-semester-is-almost-over blues, and can strike anyone at any time. No one is immune to it and college students are especially prone.

Possible prescriptions?

Although well versed in medical knowledge, I have yet to find anything that knocks this thing out of my system in less than 2 weeks. I have tried many cures, some more successful than others.

Take for example the aforementioned tequila shot. It´s like taking a cough drop when you can´t stop coughing; it numbs the pain briefly but you just want another when it´s gone. That is no successful way to beat this disease and certainly no way to do life successfully either.

I ventured into the world of natural medicine by spending the weekend in Retiro in the 75º perfect sunshine. My condition was rapidly improving, barring a slight sunburn to my shoulders through my crappy Spanish sunscreen, but all my progress departed along with the sun on Sunday afternoon.

This week is rain, rain, rain, lightening, thunder, rain, pretérito perfecto de indicativo. All week. The sun will NOT come out tomorrow.

I suppose I will have to settle for riding this thing out until it passes naturally. My mother always says that when we don´t use medicine for whatever ails us we get stronger. Hopefully in this most dire case her words will prove correct and I will feel refreshed and rejuvenated by the time the b-day rolls around in a couple weeks and we scoot off to Valencia. Nothing makes me happier than my birthday so I´m thinking that May will find me much improved.

So for now I will just have to wait, although patience has never been my best quality. I do have things to occupy me while I am laid up like this, though, which is nice.

Kristin and I have bonded over fantasy novels and she loaned me a good one that I dug into yesterday while the storm raged outside. And I am not being dramatic, that storm was pissed off at us yesterday. By reading His Dark Materials and this new novel, I have also been inspired with a new direction for my own fantasy novel that I began to write before I left home.

Yes, I am aware that this makes me the lamest person on the planet, but I am who I am and who I am is apparently a wannabe fantasy author.

So, there you go. That is the current news of my general health and sanity at present.