Well, I went to the doctor this morning and got my least favorite kind of diagnosis: Yes, I really am sick, and no, there isn't anything we can do about it except wait. Have I mentioned that I'm really tired of being sick? Oh well. Apparently I have post-viral labyrinthitis, which is (something like...I'm very bad at understanding medical explanations while in an actual appointment) a disorder of the inner ear (leading to symptoms of intense vertigo and nausea), probably caused by my own immune system misfiring while fighting off a different virus. It can take up to 6 weeks to clear itself up. Aack! And, as the doctor helpfully pointed out, he even met one person who didn't recover for nine months...But that's very uncommon. I looked it up online and at least one medical site reassuringly claimed that the normal recovery time is 3 weeks, and the symptoms are only really bad for the first 2 weeks, so I'm about halfway done with the serious badness...

Yuck. I really got through the last week by telling myself each night that, really, the next morning I'd be better.

The good bit, though, is that every time I get sick, I really, really appreciate having a dog--and I particularly appreciate having Nika, who is the Queen of Cuddles. Not only does she have the softest, most strokable fur in the world (I say, without prejudice, of course), but she is also willing to snuggle up in my arms and nap with me on the couch in front of the fire for hours. She hasn't even been demanding her normal exercise since I got sick. (And a good thing too...ah well.) She's really gone into high-intensity Snuggle Mode. It makes lying on the couch most of the day feel an awful lot more fun.

And just for total comfort, here's a site I found (courtesy of Gwenda Bond's journal) full of pictures of seahorses! How cool can you get? For my money, seahorses are by far the coolest and most magical creatures in the real (non-fantasy-fiction) world. Pictures of seahorses make me happy any day.