I got sick.

Yesterday I puked.
Eventually Leslie got tired of our conversation being punctuated by my frequent flights to the toilet and forced me to go to the store for antacids. I ate five fruity chalk bits in as many minutes. As such I am now qualified to rank off-brand Tums by flavor:
1. Lemon (I had two.)
2. Orange
3. Lime
4. Strawberry (gross.)
Then I crawled into bed with a big red mixing bowl on the floor next to me in case of sudden nocturnal upchucks, reminiscent of childhood's stomach viruses, when Mom would buy Saltines and ginger ale and set us up on the couch with the yellow plastic pitcher we used for a. vomit and b. pancake batter. Odd how that never bothered me before. The red mixing bowl went unused during the night, however, and I spent an uneasy day hanging out with my young charges (13 and 15 years old, respectively. Nice, because they really take care of themselves) and driving home with a headache roughly the size of a barge.
Apparently the cure for what ails me is ibuprofen, half-hour naps, and Vic's beef-and-lentil soup. Divine. I felt so good after dinner that we sat up watching the MST3K "Space Mutiny" episode and laughing inordinately.

For some reason I tend to think sickness only counts when the digestive tract malfunctions, specifically as pertaining to the process of peristalsis. If I throw up, I'm probably kind of sick. But I'm only sick for the period of time when I'm throwing up. Otherwise, I am being a giant pansy. The other kinds of sickness that matter include malaria and pneumonia. Serious sickness. Sore throat? suck it up. Headache? drink some water. But vomiting is special, because it is such a violent reversal of the body's natural order of things.
I have, as is probably apparent, been giving a little too much thought to the inner workings of my physical frame.

Here is something I have noticed: in the school year (thanks to graduate funding) I have no time to do anything I want to do, but, barring major emergencies, I have no want for money; during the summer, I have time for everything in the world, and a major fund shortage. Alack and alas. Greener grass, silver linings, etc.