Killer Cucumber?

I returned to Manizales yesterday morning and unpacked all my goodies the minute I arrived at my apartment: two new vegan cookbooks, dulse, stevia, rock salt, some kind of fancy low-sodium soya sauce type stuff, and of course the juicer - my oversized, ridiculously heavy, everyone-is-staring-at-me traveling companion. Last night before bed I assembled the juicer and laid out the cutting board and knife, with the intention of beginning my brand new juicing regime this morning.

It did not go exactly as planned.

The machine fulfilled its role without any difficulty, so none of the blame for what happened afterward can fall in that direction. After I finished juicing, I sat and stared at what I had created; a full glass of carrot and cucumber juice. It looked revolting.

First of all, it tasted like dirt. It was a little sweet, but the smell and taste were very earthy indeed. I powered on, rewarding myself after every sip of dirt juice with a little bite of whole wheat cracker. Then I began to notice a slight tingling in my throat. But someone this determined cannot give up just because of a little tingling (okay, and maybe just a little hint of tightness in the throat as well) right?

I sipped the vile juice while I carried on with my morning. I rubbed absently at my eyes as I tidied up the vegetable scraps. I rubbed my eyes with one hand as I packed my backpack with the other. I was at it again as I walked into the bathroom and came to an abrupt stop at the sight of myself in the mirror.

The hives were not such a shock. I had frequent allergic reactions to the blood transfusions after treatment; I am a pro with hives. It was the eyeball thing that really threw me off. It wasn't just itchy, it looked as though it were mutating into some kind of transparent jelly.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

My boss is new to the school this year, and met me only a couple weeks before I was diagnosed in August, so I've been sick for our entire acquaintance. She's been very kind and patient with me. I did not want to make this phone call. "So, I ate some cucumber for breakfast and now I'm covered in hives and my eye looks like it's trying to melt out of my head. I won't be making it into work just yet."

She wanted me to do the hospital thing, but I'm not so keen on hospitals these days. (Can't fancy why.) So, I called the WE DELIVER ANYWHERE, 24 HOURS! pharmacy listed in the phone book. They don't deliver to my neighbourhood until 7:30am.

Eventually, the pharmacy across the street from my apartment opened, and I was given some Hidroxicina Chlorihidrato, which I'm hoping is some kind of anti-histamine. The nice pharmacist lady said it might make me tired and she wasn't kidding. I'm just about ready to take a nap here on the keyboard...

But no. I think I'll just get my quinoa pilaf leftovers out of the fridge and catch a taxi to work. My eyes are red, but as I've been writing they have resumed a decidedly more eyeball-like texture, and the hives are shrinking. I guess I'll have to find a new vegetable to try to like, as it would appear that the cucumber is not going to cooperate.