the job takes its toll

I'll be the first to admit that yes, I could probably be a bit more health conscious given my career of choice. Early mornings, late nights and ultra long-haul flights surrounded by hundreds of passengers carrying all sorts of germs makes this a job that is not for those with terrible immune systems. I often tend to take advantage of being super healthy by putting unfair abuse on my body. Take, for example the last few weeks. I've deprived myself of healthy foods in favour of chocolate and binge pizza nights with my roommate. I've neglected the gym and forced myself to go out and enjoy my layovers despite often having been awake for over 24 hours. I shouldn't have been shocked when I woke up with a terribly sore throat earlier this week after a 6 day trip in which sleep was my last priority. Fast forward 6 days and I'm parked on my couch feeling sorry for myself as I battle the flu. It escalated a few nights back when I was on airport standby from 1 am - 5 am. As the night passed, I gradually began feeling worse. I crossed my fingers that I wouldn't get called out for a flight as I was clearly in no shape to be in the sky. 2 days later I was heartbroken when I had to call in sick for a flight to Hong Kong. I've been to the airport, but this was to be the first time that I'd have a layover and the prospect of a new and exciting destination made staying home much more tragic. I could blame it on winter, but let's face it, I may be chilly but it's still 20 degrees in Dubai. It's probably mostly my very own fault. I should have rested more, ate more veggies... or something of the sort. In the future, will I opt for sleep during layovers rather than being a tourist? No, probably not. A couple of weeks from now I'll forget all about my currently aching body, nausea, chills, and non-stop coughing as I venture out in search of new adventures. But for now, I'm going to wallow in my misery as I watch every movie that I own for the 3rd time.