Sick and single

I get so busy sometimes that a spoonful of peanut butter served with skim milk in a tall wine glass often counts as a meal. Or, with some planning, I find myself across a table with friends or a potential boyfriend – though both require energy I lack by the end of the day.

Then there are days when I am feeling sick and my mother is over 300 miles away to tend to me – so I am forced to take action and take care of myself.

That happened this morning.
Unfortunately the six pack of chilled beer in the fridge or the half tub of low fat margarine would not do for a healthy breakfast – nor the bag of chocolate chips and soy sauce packets from my previous Chinese take out.

Donned in my favorite BCBG track suit and warm Ugg boots, I drag myself to the nearest grocery store. I find that I am not hungry – but I know chicken soup is good for the soul and the sick.

And knowing that a sick day means less money – I decided to compare prices. I could not believe how much cheaper things are when you purchase in larger quantities – or amounts. I thought about buying a larger can of soup, but I don’t think I can eat it all. And I don’t like eating leftovers – so it’ll just spoil and I would have wasted money.

When I am sick, I also start to crave Filipino food. I hardly eat Filipino food – but in those rare moments that I do – I can’t stop thinking about them until I have them. So I walk around the store looking for the “ethnic” section. I soon realized that attempting to cook is another challenging task. Not only do you need to know what you want, but you also need to know what ingredients are needed. I was hesitant about purchasing these ingredients because once again, I don’t want them to spoil. Why do soy sauce and vinegars come in such large bottles? Don’t they know that there are single people who don’t need all that?

I got back to my apartment after spending nearly fifty when all I wanted was a warm cup of chicken soup. But I wasn’t hungry anymore.

So I climbed back to bed -- thinking it is not good to be sick and single.