I’ve been sick since the holidays. Well, not sick sick. It’s gone through several mutations – if it wasn’t one thing, it was another – but, mostly, I’ve had this cough that won’t go away. It’s not so bad anymore, I can finally sleep through the night without sputtering, but a little irritation still remains.

For a while, it got really bad. It felt like my throat was closing up. I feared I had developed an allergy to something. I slept – rather, tried to sleep sitting up. I was worried I was keeping the maids, who sleep in the room downstairs from me, awake with my constant hacking. I was so exhausted, I asked my dad for stronger sleeping pills, and I still had to take a double dose for those to take effect, which left me dazed and groggy in the morning.

Given my talent and appetite for self-destruction, I wondered if, this time, I had finally gone too far.

I didn’t think it was the alcohol. It certainly wasn’t the smoking. (I think I may have finally beat my nicotine addiction, but more on that at another time.) The culprit, this time, seemed to be the overindulgence in rich food, specifically those that I am allergic to.

I know that I am definitely lactose intolerant; I suspect a gluten intolerance as well, and an allergy to a certain something in some – not all! – red wine.

I know. I’d do a blood test to be sure, but do I really want to be sure???

Since Nicolas returned to Cebu, I’ve been hibernating but, even in hibernation, I am my own worse enemy.

I swear I gave away most of the food gifts I got for Christmas. But that still didn’t stop a half gallon of lengua de gato from lodging itself in my stomach. Or the half box of ADB crinkles. Or the food gifts my folks got for Christmas… At the very least, I have now ensured that there are no more tempting objects in the refrigerator.

Burp.

I’m so tired of being unwell that the thought of never going out and drinking or eating again almost sounds appealing. Yesterday, I swear I almost made up my mind to go to the market to buy an assortment of nutrient-dense leafy greens. Almost.

Blech. Why are the healthiest foods the most appallingly boring?

Sigh…

One day, I will love lettuce with all my heart. One day…