fever-induced rambles

what a night. I was so exhausted yesterday that I turned in around 10. unfortunately a splitting headache and coughing fits kept me wide awake. it was around midnight that I suddenly realized that my temperature was soaring. I took a tylenol and tried again to sleep, and when my fever subsided around 4:30 (along with my headache) I was able to relax with a lozenge and doze off around 5 am. so after being awake all the miserable night, I finally decided to visit my friendly neighbourhood pharmacist (dorothee has been telling me to since friday haha). I told the man at hickey's (tee hee hickey) about my persistent, chesty cough, headaches and slight fever. I also mentioned my encounter with bronchitis in high school. then, as if on cue, I coughed a big fantastic seal-bark-noise at which he immediately produced a brown bottle. 'oh no', I thought, 'buckley's!' but it is not buckley's. it is a phlegm-fighter that tastes like mediciney oranges. and I have to take it three times a day until I am well. the pharmacist also recommended that, if this mess is not cleared up within the week, I must visit the doctor as it could be an infection. but he also said that it did not sound like an infection. so I am probably ok. also, I have the next four nights off so I am going to go to class, drink water, and sleep for pretty much the rest of the week.

I finally tried a traditional irish breakfast! I figured that, with my distinct lack of sleep and general feeling of malaise, I owed it to myself. for those not in the know (like me, before arriving in dublin) an irish breakfast consists of a whole bunch of stuff tossed into a cast-iron fry pan swimming in meaty juices. oh my goodness. it was incredible. tea, bacon rashers, sausages, beans, fresh tomato and mushrooms, fried bread, and a sunny-side-up egg. oddly enough: NO POTATOES. sort of nice, because there are potatoes in nearly everything here. good potatoes, but lots of them. the onion mash that was served with the guiness and beef stew I tried last week was phenomenal! imagine thick, brown gravy, big tender chunks of beef simmered in guiness, carrots, parsnips, and pearl onions, all on a bed of savoury mashed potatoes. oh man. the irish do their traditional food very well. it makes up for all the crappy other stuff - like fast food, incredible lack of fresh fruits and vegetables, carbonated drinks, cookies, crackers, aspartame in EVERYTHING, coffee, all really second-rate. I can't complain though, that most of the things that are bad for me generally taste like poop. I'm serious about the fruits and vegetables though, it's rare that there are grapes available, we're stuck to bananas and a couple varieties of apples. what I wouldn't give for some baby carrots, cucumber, or peaches :( however I hear that sidewalk markets will start popping up with all the warm weather. yay!