weekend ups and downs

Since I moved to Asheville a year ago, I've been sicker more than I have in like 10 years. I've had to leave work early twice, once to food poisoning and once to general dizziness / nausea. And that's not counting all the times I've been sick NOT at work.

This weekend was about the worst it's been. I was off work and we headed out to Bele Chere, which is the biggest street faire in the southeast. You can drink beer in the streets while perusing lots of local wares and food. There are lots of concerts, and they are all free. It's generally a good time.

I was having a good time, but with a few irritants. One, I was going to buy a pretty rainbow tie-dyed dress, but the one I wanted was on a mannequin. I went to the shop guy with the cash in my hand and brought him over so he could get it for me. He went about taking it off the mannequin, and then handed it to someone else, who then proceeded to stretch it as far as she could and put it on over her clothes. Now I can't blame her for that second part, I was planning to do the same thing. But the fact that she stretched it way further than she needed to (and she was already a bigger girl than me) turned me off of that dress. I'm not going to pay good money for something that would have fit me. And the shop guy totally ignored me, even though *I* was the one who made him get off his lazy ass so I could buy something. So he didn't get any of my money that day.

The other irritants were minor - things like normal businesses raising their prices for the festival (which didn't faze me because I had a buy-one-get-one free coupon anyway, so that was actually the best time for me to use it). Luckily I had enough good friends (and good beer) with me that the day wasn't ruined.

Last year we had gone to the festival, and there was a chick selling handmade chokers / bracelets / anklets out of some natural hemp-like material coated in wax (which makes it so you can wear the piece for the rest of your life, showering, swimming, etc.). I really really wanted one, but we had literally just moved here so we had zero dollars. She didn't have a website or anything and was from Florida, so I couldn't buy one later. But the same girl was there again this year, and so I got myself an anklet with the money that would have gone to the dress jerks.

Then after a full day, we headed home. I got a pretty bad headache, so I went straight to bed. A few hours later, I woke up wth an upset tummy. Little did I know that I would not be going back to sleep that night. Instead, I would spend the entire night vomiting. I'm not sure what caused it, as I only ate one thing that my friends didn't eat, and there wasn't any food left in my system by the time it started coming back up anyway. I did have a lot of beer while walking around on a hot day, but I kept properly hydrated and protected from the sun, even seeking out AC a few times. But whatever the reason, I sure paid for it. It was the awesome kind of sick that when I thought I was done, I'd go lay down and try to sleep, only to have to get back up a few minutes later.

Luckily I was off the next day, or I would have had to call in. I felt better, but not great, but I was done puking. However, since I had no sleep, I was utterly exhausted and spent the next day recouping from what could have only been a poisoning.