Baklava almost killed me today.

The owner of the restaurant went on an errand and during that process spied some baklava and thought she’d bring some back to treat her hard working employees. She even went so far as to get a piece made only with pine nuts for me since I’m not allergic to pine nuts but am deathly allergic to all other nuts.

I try to keep nuts out of my mouth…that’s my motto…but it’s so damn hard sometimes!

Anyway, I tried the baklava, it was quite tasty, and soon the worst allergic reaction I’ve had in a decade swept over my fragile little body causing a distant memory of a long ago thought of a potent warning to pop into my mind, “That might have been pine nuts but I bet they weren’t perfectly careful while making them. There was probably some contamination. Nuts can sneak into all sorts of places you wouldn’t expect them.”

It’s nice to be reminded of your mortality in the afternoon while you’re vomiting profusely as your body is trying to get the wretched bit of poison out real fucking quick. Such things really keep you focused on the big issues, like for instance, not dying being integral to all of life.

Being alive and not having your insides scream in pain is WAY better than being either a) a choking death or b) feeling like a machete is being twisting in your throat. If you’ve experience neither of these things then you’ll just have to trust me on this.