Sick Sucks: Or How to Make the Best Out of a Bad Situation

I have been sick steadily and reliably since the start of 2013. It started with a cold, which morphed into Pneumonia, which tapered back into a cold, which shifted into a sense of wellness that came crashing down around my ears - or into them, as I now have an ear infection. If you are not excited to hear about this because you wanted to be reading about fun fun wine, beer, and spirits, know that I am even less enthused.

I am PISSED.

I don't do sick well. When I am well I live off of 7 hours of sleep or less. I run for miles. I charge into life with boundless energy, and I don't stop until I am sitting on a bar stool with a nice brew so that I can chat into the wee hours of the morning. When I am sick and I need to sleep, rest, relax, take it easy, I start to behave like a border collie who hasn't had a walk in a few days - badly. Help me if I ever get truly, long-term, sick. I don't know what I would do with myself. 

This is me 3 days after my walking pneumonia diagnosis. I'm walking aren't I?

Yeah yeah, I know - this sickness has likely dragged on because I am not willing to take it easy enough to kick it. I have been sleeping. I have only been climbing on Mt. Hood once, and I have not been out to the bar at all. The last of those makes me sad because I don't get to try new things, and I don't get to write about them here.

I tweeted this week in a joking fashion that I was doing a side-by-side tasting of Emergen-C Super Orange, and Tangerine. I had a box of the Tangerine, and my roommate Annie had the Super Orange, so I thought it would be funny to taste both (clearly I was feeling West Toast withdrawals).

These are the things I do when I am bored. I guess it beats what a border collie would do. When Josh tweeted back at me that I should write it up I thought "why the hell not?" After all, I have not posted in quite a while. 

The first difference I noted was that of color. Emergen-C does not use food dyes, but whatever was in the Tangerine brought out redder notes in the soft orange fizz. Perhaps whatever it was had to do with acid, because the Tangerine had a more acrid bite to it, and the Super Orange was much softer and sweeter. Neither really tasted like what they said they were - but really, was I expecting them to? The mouth feel on the Super Orange was smoother and more pleasant. Annie tried them both, and said she preferred the Super Orange, which I guess is a good thing since that one was hers.

All in all the tasting was just what the doctor ordered - a little ray of fun and tasty sunshine in the life of a sickie - and, with 3200% of my daily vitamin C, I am hoping that I will be back to tasting some other beverages in the near future!