What I Learned From Having a Stomach Virus

I'm the girl who never skips class. I had perfect attendance every year after third grade and cried in fifth grade and possibly a few times thereafter at the prospect of missing one single solitary day of academia. My first job (oh those cheery teen years) was as drug store clerk where I was underappreciated and made to deal with old ladies who attempted to redeem coupons from Rite-Aid (not my store) and request rain checks for 24 bottles of Suave shampoo. I never called out once.

No, I don't have such a love of school or menial labor that I wake up with a great big smile everyday one of those activities comes along. Instead, generally speaking, I cannot stand to miss things. The day I don't go to class is the day the teacher takes attendance and sees I'm not there. And bases twenty percent of our grade on it. And hands out answers to the final. And lollipops. The day I don't go to work is the day they give everyone who is there raises - or fires everyone who's not there. So, with little faltering over the years, I pretty much attend every event, obligation, or activity onto which I sign my name no matter how headache-y, sniffle-y, sore-throat-y, or limpy I am. And show up on time (but that's a post for another day).

Alas, as my decreased Internet presence over the past week as also alluded to, the past several days have been the most debiliating I have experienced in really all of my recent memory. I called out of work. I skipped 2 classes. I stayed in bed for the majority of about four days. I even took a day off my internship, which as any journo student will attest to feels like writing a death sentence to your career (another post for another day on the ridiculousness of that fact, however. But, no, they were really nice about it. Phew.).

I had a stomach virus. I will spare you the details, but looking back it was, well awful, but also fairly enlightening. And here is what I found out:

1. There is absolutely no reason to check my e-mail every five seconds, like I have found myself doing in the past. In addition to the sharp food aversion I developed this week (which is oddly still sticking around), the Internet and the glowing light of my laptop - normally my friends - were my proverbial cheeseburger and fries. I couldn't even pick up my laptop, let alone look at the screen for two minutes. And you know what? It felt good. It felt good to not be preoccupied with what 200 people were doing on Twitter for a few days. It felt good to not check the same message boards over and over and get same bad news, complaints, and cries for help as usual. And it felt good to not have to be at the beck-and-call of whoever felt like e-mailing me. Which - as I come to my point here - was really no one important. I checked my e-mail once a day at my lowest point in my ailment (world's smallest violin, I know) and there was NEVER anything so pressing that it couldn't wait until I checked it at my leisure. For once, I only had to think about myself and what I wanted and what made me feel better, and I swear that helped me even more than the twelve Pepto-Bismol tablets I must have swallowed in total by the end of this week.

2. I could afford - and probably hugely benefit from - a lot more sleep. Now, the twelve hour increments (or more - geeze) that I spent sleeping over the past few days are of course a bit excessive and unreasonable for everyday life. But even in the midst of dealing with a constantly churning tummy, deciding to go to bed at midnight, instead of say 2 a.m., felt like I was making an active and healthy choice for myself. Recently I'd decided that the magic sleep number for me was 6 hours ... now I'm thinking that number is probably closer to 8. Sure, I can wake up, feel generally rested, and get through the day (almost) with 6, but I bet that with 8 hours I'd be a lot more productive and a lot happier. And look forward more to getting to go back to a nice long sleep! And who saw this month's Glamour article about losing weight while you sleep? Um, I'll take one of those, please.

3. The world doesn't stop turning because I had to take some personal time to myself. I'm basically all caught up in class. Nothing momentous happened at work. One missed day of my internship does not mean death to my career. And I'm back on my feet quicker and feeling more energized to get things done having taken some time to rest and recoup. I've never taken a "mental health day" in my life - I think I see now why these are so great. I bet they'd be great for you, too, dear reader.

4. My mother can text message. I'm sure she'd turn this into an example of how people who need to get to someone they love can climb INSURMOUNTABLE heights that they would otherwise not be able to, but I don't buy it. Basically, who knew?

Outside the Oreo 1.28.09 and 2.5.09

So, I've been slacking on posting my columns here. . Let me just say, it is not because I don't want to share them. I do! It's because the amount of effort I need to exert to plug my camera into my laptop or into my scanner is too much to bear. I am lazy, and if it's not already in front of me on this computer screen or in one of my notebooks then, well, I can't promise it's happening. (Future employers, please take all of that with a grain of salt. I promise I'll plug in my scanner for you.)

Well, a mere day and and hour before next Thursday's column comes out (sneak preview: I ate a lot of food), here it is. Well, at least half. I didn't scan the newspaper pages this time, but I do have some eye candy by way of digital camera!

1.28.09 Skating at the Blue Cross RiverRink (read it here!)

For a person who trips over her own feet at least twice a day (not even just once, twice) and also has a sharp aversion to the cold (I've inappropriately worn jeans to work for the past 3 weeks), you would think I would hate ice skating. But I kind of love gliding across the ice as my ankles get weaker and weaker. And watching little kids fly past me. And drinking snack bar hot chocolate. And hula. Huh? Read it to find out.

Here are some photos of my afternoon:

2.5.09 Discovering New Local Coffeshops (read please!)

I cozied in four coffee shops for the most recent edition of Outside the Oreo - cooed at the foam design in my latte at Gryphon Cafe in Wayne, wandered in awe around the meandering aisles of treats at The Head Nut in Ardmore, got my alternative tracks and super-strong espresso fix at MilkBoy in Bryn Mawr, and tied up the weekend with a cute V-day cupcake at Maia in Villanova. And was very, very jittery by Saturday.

Check out the photos to feel like you were there too!

Machiatto @ Milkboy

Milkboy in Bryn Mawr

Cupcake @ Maia - super cute!

Tiramisu @ Gryphon Cafe

Foam art latte (ee!) @ Gryphon Cafe

I'm-a Makin' a Pizza Pie!

A few nights ago a made a batch of whole wheat pizza crusts to freeze and use when I'm having a pizza craving (which is oh-so often). I followed this Everyday Food Recipe and made one of the delicious pizzas tonight! And got to use my new food processor! Super-psyched! After the crusts were made, frozen, and then defrosted at my leisure, the rest of the recipe is really a snap.

I put some grape tomatoes, some minced garlic, and a little oregano, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper into the food processor, and whirled it all up together. Then you pile that mixture on your smoothed-out dough like a sauce and bake for about 20 min - you can add some olive oil too at this point, but I refrained to keep it as light as possible. In the mean time, toss together some arugula, some shaved Parmesan, and a little balsamic vinegar. I topped the pizza with this mixture for the last minute or so of baking and it melted together really nicely! The flavors were great and it's perfect for one since the rest of the dough was left frozen until I want another one! I have seven crusts left, and Lord knows I’ll be using them. Delish meal, Martha does it again.

Martha's....

and mine!

Into the Fold - Domino

No, I'm not late breaking the news - we all know that Domino, Conde Nast's shelter mag for the hip, chic, and snazzy, has been closed. David Carr has officially declared the company "in retreat", and Gawker can add another notch on its shelf for the "Great Magazine Die-Off."

But you already knew that. And I certainly don't need to retiterate my emotions on the subject (hint: it's not mad ... or glad ... or bad).

But what I have found interesting in the past few days is the outcry from bloggers and other web-loving media professionals over how much they will miss the mag. This article in the LA Times published the laments of interior design and home-centric bloggers who adored discussing and posting about the latest in Domino each month. The message board at Ed2010 expectedly threads the dismay of magazine ed wannabes, but even the normally cynical freelancers, anti-J school crusaders, and Web 2.0 martyrs (too harsh?) who populate the Mediabistro boards mustered up some sympathy and sadness. And it keeps coming - Dooce notes in her Daily Style that it was "news that crushed me since it was by far my favorite shelter mag."

Are we done with magazines? I should think not. Bloggers apparently agree. It just pains me that today we hear the voices of those who love the medium only after it is too late.

I'll admit I had never picked up a copy of Domino - without a home to decorate, it was included on part of the magazine rack I was more likely to only scan. I'll buy the last issue though - as I did CosmoGIRL! - in tribute and to enjoy. 'Cause that's what I do.

UPDATE: For all those - bloggers or otherwise - who can't bear to say goodbye to the team over at Domino, check out this post at Frill Seeker Diary for the lo-down on where their design ideas will reincarnate on the web!

Holy cow, another UPDATE: Check out this blog devoted to missing Domino!