A hazard to my health

In the middle of the third day of showing our Thai guests around the malls of Metro Manila, my body decided to surrender. First my stomach turned nauseous and threatened to spew its contents either upward or downward. Then my head started spinning and throbbing alternately. A fever followed, accompanied by aches and pains in joints and muscles I'd forgotten I had. Then my legs went numb, and my fingers went stiff and tingly (I had to breathe into a paper bag to get the oxygen flowing to my extremities).

Luckily, I was at home when all this happened (the Thais were in Greenhills shopping for south sea pearls with my parents), so I collapsed into bed and was excused from the rest of the day's scheduled activities. Hanks stayed home to play Florence Nightingale, taking my temperature, bringing me hot water and bottles of lukewarm Gatorade, and patiently listening to me moan and groan (I love my sister to bits). On the one hand, I was embarrassed to appear like such a pathetic weakling again in front of the Ep Espada people (recall my hellish trip to Bangkok in January '06). On the other hand, I was relieved to get out of playing subservient squire to them. Next time they're coming to town, I should take a double dosage of my vitamins... or, as someone wisely pointed out, just get sick all over again to escape escort duties. :p

But now that the Thais are packing up and about to leave, it's time for me to get better, fast. I still have a week of various social engagements ahead of me, and these I'm actually up for. Hopefully, my body agrees.