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I took a nice long break this afternoon from work and join some of the ladies for a bit of conversation. Maricor brought out a pack of fish crackers good for 4 people and I was so hungry I couldn’t help myself but to take a bite. Then another one, and another one. We finished the serving and Cor took out another pack. I forgot how much I ate. Here’s the catch – I’m allergic to anything that swims.

Right now I got a very itchy throat and probably an inflamed air passage way. Good thing I have my medicine with me. And good thing there’s probably less than 20% fish on that devilishly delicious thing.

My allergy started when I was, if I could remember, in grade five or six when I got one of my black-outs due to pure asthma. Yes, I’ve had asthma for as long as I could remember. Take note, I even have memories of me in the crib and not yet being able to walk. The asthma was so bad I used to get blackouts and wake up already in the hospital. It also worked with clockwork precision – I get hospitalized every two years and there are certain months in a year that I am prone to attacks. I am allergic to not only seafoods but also to dust – a good enough excuse to get off Sunday household duties.

I could tell my father was desperate to have me cured. When the nebulizers weren’t working their magic anymore, my parents turned to alternative folklore. That would include drinking lizard piss (how the hell they obtain that is beyond me), lizard skin juice, frog skin, my own piss and chewing a couple of herbal leaves and barks. I thank the gods and goddesses I never had to do any of those things. Right now I’ve been prescribed the strongest preventive medicine around spiked with steroids. I wonder why I’m not gaining muscle mass…

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