Can somebody get me a tissue... oh wait, I'm sick and all alone

Being sick sucks.

But as I discovered this week, what's worse than being sick is being completely alone and being sick.

I got sick Sunday night, then spent Monday morning trying to find someone to work my Monday night shift. Thankfully, I was off on Tuesday, so I then had two full days to recover from what turned out to be a nasty case of strep throat.

So along with wincing every time I had to swallow - and even feeling the throbbing pains from my throat when I wasn't swallowing - my entire body ached like when I have the flu. So to sum it up, my existence hurt - especially when I moved.

But since Brent was at work both days until after 10 p.m., that meant I had to still get up off the couch, bathtub, or bed - my three sick zones - to get medicine, tissues, extra blankets, food, etc. Since I didn't have any "sick" food - applesauce, juice, ice cream, and cream soda - that meant I also had to go to the grocery store feeling like crap.

When I lived in Toledo and Brent was at work, I would park myself on my parents' couch and have my mom take care of me. And at the very least, if I was sick during the day and she had to work, I would call over a friend to do something low-key, like watch movies.

Here in New York, I'm not comfortable enough with my semi-friends to let them see me in my glasses, sweatpants, and fuzzy slippers with my unwashed hair matted to my forehead. All I had was my dog Chloe, who was great to snuggle with until she got too hot and decided to leave me for the cool tile of the bathroom.

So man was I lonely. I mean, I get lonely a lot, but this was a new kind of lonely. Sure I got some sympathy from my mom over the phone, and caught up on some movies I had been wanting to watch, but that just wasn't the same as being with people. People who care about me who could take care of me.

Such is the trade-off. But it still sucks.