i'm not an athlete but for the past three days, i was chugging gatorade as if i were running my most important race. i was dehydrated - my doctor and the cbc results said so and my tongue showed it all. i had a fever that threatened to break into the 39-degree mark. it didn't help that i found out i was allergic to yet another antibiotic. at least i only broke out in welts, unlike the last allergic reaction when i couldn't breathe at all.

after countless glasses of juice, bottles of gatorade, tablets upon tablets of biogesic, cipromet and virlix and mucobran which brings back memories of robitussin, i am feeling much, much better.

i remembered a question posed in a daily - what season would you like to experience? maybe because it's the only season i experience outside of the country, but i certainly loved spring, particularly spring breaking out into summer. but spring, yes. it was the first time i experienced the sun high up in the sky while the air is nippingly cool. it's certainly a very good excuse to wear your best fashion and an opportunity to wear knee-high socks with maybe mary janes or any other appropriate footwear.

i recall having gathered enough guts to put on what i later called my japanese tourist wardrobe for the day i designated for scouring museums. i combined my mother's black shift dress, the red windbreaker courtesy of durga's closet, black knee-high socks and my chocolate brown adidas sneakers.

the best part of that day was sitting at the stairs of the met after a long day of walking and looking and ooh-ing and aah-ing. (think kevin james smearing his lunch all over himself before will smith comes into the picture in 'hitch'.) in the true tradition of cheap eats to save up on entrance fees and sale items at the souvenir shop, i just let it all soak in. it was close to five pm, the sun was still high, the air cool as always and so was everything around me. nearby, a pigeon was feasting on the remains of another tourist's afternoon eats. that moment represented for me the best of what spring can offer.