Up at 4 a.m., sick and kvetchy.

This is my 501st post. Mazel tov to me, I guess!

I'm awake, and yes, it is 4 a.m. in Chicago. I can't sleep, unlike last night when all I could do is sleep. I'm sick, again, and this time whatever I have (the doctor suggested it was a sinus or viral infection) is causing severe pain to my head, neck, ears, and jaw. It's to the point where I have to rise, slowly -- very slowly -- or else a sharp pain drives itself around my head and neck and to my eyes. No matter how I try to position myself in bed, my body rebels, my ears scream out. Vertigo sets in when I'm standing, and I'm constantly queasy.

The strange thing is, I don't remember any of my previous sinus infections (since I moved to Chicago, I've had at least three) being this bad. I know that chronic sinus infections are typically signs of something more serious at work, which has me irritated.

The over-arching point here is that I have been sick more often in Chicago than when I was living anywhere else. Part of me wonders if it is the humidity or the constant temperature fluctuation, but whatever it is, it has me considering perhaps not making Chicago home again. I know environmental considerations are very necessary when it comes to picking a home, and my parents always told me that I could never live in the Northwest (Seattle, Portland) because of the level of moisture there. I'm beginning to wonder if there's some truth to their warnings. Nebraska was humid, but not as humid as it is here, and my allergies were never as bad as they have been here the past two summers.

At any rate, it's late and I can't sleep. Or maybe it's early and I can't sleep. I'm just tired of being chronically ill. And this time, it's completely debilitating. With the feeling that my face is constantly being squeezed by some gigantic walnut cracking device makes it impossible to focus on anything, let alone have a coherent, fluid thought. And now? I'm developing a cough along with all the pain and the sore throat and the stuffed nose.

I'm such a kvetcher, I know. But really, could you pass me a large horse tranquilizer so I could sleep? Todah rabah ...