Drawn and Quartered...

...and then glued back together inside out. That's how my body feels right now. I came down with a hateful and mean flu and it's been quite an adventure for the last few days. I thought it was a cold, but...I was wrong. Yesterday I woke up with muscle aches, chills, headache, stomach ache, fever, a sharp sore throat...basically it just felt like I got hit by a truck 17 times.

The problem with the place we're staying in Tampa is that it's not near anything. So I had to walk pretty far to find food (cause I'm trying to save money, and room service was just hilariously expensive). So I trekked all the way back to Channelside. It was only a 20-minute walk, but when every step felt like my bones were loosening and falling off, that's much longer than I'd want.

I found a Bennigan's and had some dumpy chicken tortilla soup, which was tomato based. I was looking for a healthy chicken soup with noodles and broth, not filled with corn (which I'm allergic to). Eh.

It felt like a big waste to walk all the way back to the hotel with nothing to show for my journey but a terrible meal. I really felt like I needed to sit down. So I went to a movie. This is the first time I've ever gone to a movie because I needed a seat for a couple hours. I checked out Beowulf in Imax 3D (the only way I would see it) and it was much better than I expected. Very enjoyable, and with all the delightfully obvious morals still in-tact from the original story.

Afterwards, I decided to make another attempt to find a brothy chicken soup, so I went to a Thai restaurant, and was served by the nicest woman alive. I told her I wasn't feeling well and I was looking for a meal that was conducive to healing, so she brought me some Jasmine tea, along with the largest bowl of soup I've had in my life:

When I came in, I sat at a regular square table. She cleaned a booth out and said, "Why don't you sit over there instead? It will be more comfortable for you."

I took my time making my way to the bottom of the bowl, while listening to the new Radiohead album on my iPod (it's good...soooo good. The string arrangements are beautiful). All the while, my waitress (henceforth known as Thai Goddess) kept bringing me more Jasmine Tea and saying things like, "hopefully this will make you well."

Given the circumstances, it was truly a lovely evening.

When it was time for my check, Thai Goddess came over told me to get lots of rest and try to keep drinking tea if possible. She said, "You'll be better in no time." I wanted to give her a big hug. A little kindness goes such a long way.