Pressure.

… in my face!! Wasn’t I just sick? 

It started Friday afternoon. I was in my cubicle when I started noticing the quiet beginnings of what would become one of the worst sinus headaches that I’ve ever had in my life. My sinuses hurt, yes- but it was my tear ducts, my teeth, and my jaw that hurt the most … my entire face felt like it could explode at any minute. The pain was radiating. When I’d run my fingers along the bridge of my nose and downward, following my tear ducts, I’d feel the pressure grow- it felt like my tear ducts were little inflated balloons.

It was strange.

I have done nothing all weekend and it’s been nice. Friday night Dave came over and watched TV with me while listening to me whine about the pain in my face. He’s a good man.

He put me to bed at 11 and left. I woke up at 7:30 and turned on my TV. I watched Netflix documentaries and napped on and off until 2:30- I needed a day like that so badly. Yesterday afternoon I did nothing but lay around on the couch, sporadically drugging myself up with cold and sinus pills and cough drops (which felt SO GOOD on my sinuses). Jackie went out with her friends for her friend Katie’s birthday and I stayed home and made homemade chicken soup with cornmeal dumplings. It didn’t cure me, but it sure tasted good!

Anyway, the nasal pressure has died down and has given away to plugged ears, mucus, and a slightly sore throat. Awesome. As much as I dislike plugged ears, I’m happy to trade it for the sinus pressure. That was so miserable.

Wednesday Jackie, the not devout Catholic, is going to begin her yearly tradition of giving up something for the Lenten season. Last year she gave up red meat and this year she’s giving up all meat. I’ve decided to do it with her, but I’m going to forgo the church thing and all of that- I just want to do the meat-free thing. I was a vegetarian for 6 years and a vegan for one of those; halfway through my 21st year I began eating meat again and haven’t looked back. I guess I more or less just want to show myself that I still can have some control over the things that I eat. Plus, Dave doesn’t think that I can do it. He’s bet me $100 that I’ll fail. I’m going to prove him wrong.

What he doesn’t get, I think, is that the hardest part about giving up meat and meat products- or any animal products for that matter- is learning what substitutions taste good to you and learning which foods generally contain hidden animal products so that you can avoid them. People fail at giving up meat because they think that they have to give up their favorite foods but they don’t- they just have to find good vegetarian alternatives to those foods. Because I spent such a large portion of my life eating that way I already know all of that. I already know what tastes good to me, what works and what doesn’t, which foods I can trade for others, and where hidden animal products can be found in seemingly vegetarian foods.

So I guess what I’m saying is that this is going to be a piece of cake. The most difficult part is going to be forgoing the foods at restaurants that I’ve learned to love as a meat-eater. I mean lets face it: although I know that I can find a million different meat-free things to eat at at any restaurant, the meat-free options aren’t always as good. And I feel that I can say that truthfully now, after having gone back to a diet that includes meat of all kinds. Vegetarian stock doesn’t even remotely compare to chicken stock. Bacon just tastes good. A vegetarian burger isn’t as satisfying as a cheeseburger.

If the 18 year old Riely were reading what the 25  year old Riely is writing now, she’d be totally and utterly bewildered. And disgusted. Completely disgusted.

Oh, how time changes things.

Aaannnnyway, I’m going to curl up on the sofa with my coffee and turn on some My So-Called Life on Netflix while the bread that I’m going to bake rises. Or maybe I’ll watch some of The Universe. It’s going to be awesome.