Shadowhunters Talk: 2x18 "Awake, Arise, or Be Forever Fall"

Life Post: That Sick Time of Year

Since my last post about getting sick, I’ve run out of cold medicine that the doctor gave me, and I’ve been reminded of how miserable this cold is. There’s less pain now but more of other, grosser things. At least we should be getting to the end of it all soon.

This week seems to be revolving around illness more than anything else. Everyone’s getting sick (whether it’s the flu or colds) or is scared of getting sick. There’s been a lot of checking on people to make sure they’re okay. Even if I don’t know if they’re sick, one of the first things I’ve been asking them is if they are.

This flu season is apparently pretty bad in Japan, and I easily believe it. Though, funnily enough, I just searched Google and saw one result saying this flu season was mild in the US because of how effective the vaccine is followed immediately by another that claimed this year’s flu shot is less than 50% effective. I didn’t bother to look into that further.

All I know is that I’m ready for spring.

Life Post: A Cold? The Flu? Who Knows?

Considering I have year round allergies (dust mites) that I'm constantly dealing with, I'm okay with the fact that I really don't get sick that often. My allergies provide me with a near daily struggle, especially in the winter when I'm indoors more and can't open the windows to air out the apartment, so I don't need to deal with an illness on top of that.

Every year, I get a cold or two, but I can't remember the last time I was sick besides that. I've had health "issues" sure. I've needed cavities filled, still deal with severe acne, and those sorts of things, but those aren't illnesses. I've been lucky in that regard, which I was reminded of recently when it came up that I've never had the flu.

Last year was the first time in my life that I got the flu shot, so I can't explain exactly how I avoided the flu my entire life, but I have. It's nothing short of a miracle now when I'm surrounded by kids at work. This year has proven that even with the shot, you can't always escape the flu.

My friend got diagnosed with the flu yesterday. The previous night, I'd been with her and another friend, and while I shrugged off any concern I might get it at first, I began feeling sick by that night. Cue a whole day of me growing increasingly worried that I might have caught the flu. Since people are contagious 24 hours before they start showing symptoms, it wouldn't have been surprising if I had.

I waffled back and forth between thinking I had to have it to being sure that I was just paranoid. That wasn't just my emotions but my symptoms coming and going. This morning, I woke up hours before my alarm because I was too miserable to sleep anymore, but once I was awake, I felt better. Then I felt worse again, and over and over.

Eventually, I cracked and messaged some people saying that I thought it was a possibility, and long story short, I was tested for the flu. The verdict? I don't have it. What I do have is a cold.

It's some strange timing that I would develop a cold at the same time my friend got the flu, but that's happened. As I write this, my head feels like it's about to explode, but I know I'd feel much worse if it was the flu. I was sure of that before going to the doctor, yet I was paranoid. I've never actually had the flu after all, so while I'd been told about how terrible it was, I have no way of knowing what it actually feels like to have it.

I hate asking for help because I feel like I'm burdening people, so of course I feel guilty for someone needing to take me to the hospital when it wasn't the flu. (Though I did at least get cold medicine out of it to make me feel better.) I know I probably shouldn't. No one's tried to make me feel guilty, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel just a little guilty.

It's strange not really knowing if you have something or not just because descriptions of how it feels can't compare to actually feeling it. I can try to imagine the flu, but I don't know if I'm imagining it right. I get enough colds that I wouldn't have doubted this was one except for the timing. Like with many other things, I've just been told, "You'll know when it's the flu," but today is a testament that the saying doesn't mean I'll really know for sure.

If I ever do get the flu, I might be in bed for days and still be convinced it's not actually the flu after this.

Anyway, I'm off to take another dose of my cold medicine before my head actually explodes.

Race to the Edge Talk: 5x02 "Sandbusted"

Race to the Edge and the How to Train Your Dragon franchise as a whole isn't a stickler for historical accuracy, which is why I've always found it interesting that they chose to have Hiccup and Astrid betrothed so quickly (and to use the term 'betrothed'). Don't get me wrong, the Hiccstrid shipper in me loves it, but I also admit that it's a little strange to me that they'd make the decision in a show that's ultimately modern in many ways. Hiccup and Astrid are clearly going to be okay, but they are still teenagers. This seemed like a strange time to make something fit with the supposed time period.

But I'm a Hiccstrid shipper, so I admit to finding all of the Hiccstrid in this episode to be adorable. I had the initial surprised about talk of betrothal and then fawned over them for the rest of the episode. Seeing Astrid worked up about choosing the perfect gift for Hiccup was nice. Astrid isn't someone to wear her heart on her sleeve, though she's become more open about sharing her feelings as she's gotten older. (That sentence made me realize we've really seen these characters grow up in a way that's not very common in animated franchises like this.) I like having moments where we see how important Hiccup is to her.

All in all, despite not being the biggest fan of how becoming betrothed works in the How to Train Your Dragon universe, I liked the way the Hiccstrid was handled in this episode, and it stands out far more to me than any other aspect of the episode. I don't think that's just because I'm a Hiccstrid shipper either. It kind of demanded that it be the focus in this episode.