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When you’ve got the flu, your insides are turning inside out and you think you’re going to die, have you ever wondered what’s in it for the virus?

I mean, what possibly could a virus get out of all of this? I started thinking about this question and wondered if viruses were more like marauding teenagers. Maybe the point is to make their mark on the weak by destroying what they hold most dear. Maybe Viruses just get off on destroying.

Clearly, I’m no scientist. I just like to eat food and hate anything that keeps me from enjoying my meal. Bad service, bad food and being cash poor are the usual suspects. But now, VIRUSES are on my radar.

Why does a virus have to go in and mess with ME?

I’ve been doing a little research and from what I can tell, viruses know that they’re insipid little organisms and their time is short. So they, like angry little teenage marauders, like to cause as much havoc they can and then jump hosts and start all over again. They don’t like to stay in one place too long, else get caught. So they vini-vidi-vici a person and then, change their look a little, and move on. That way, they can keep on messing with people until the end of time.

Vicious little *(7*&(&8%@’s!

According to the J. Craig Venter Institute, the flu I’m talking about is a Type A influenza.

Researchers classify type A influenzas according to structural variations in two surface proteins: hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). Like changing coats, the influenza virus changes the shape of these HA or NA proteins when it accumulates minor mutations or reassorts more dramatically. The human immune system no longer recognizes the virus, and infection begins anew.

Steven Salzberg, senior author of the Nature paper, says the new work illustrates this chain of molecular events. “The study demonstrates that these influenza subpopulations, or variant strains, represent a pool of genetic resources that the influenza virus can draw upon,” says Salzberg, a researcher at TIGR and also director of the University of Maryland ‘s Center for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology. “Pockets of distinct flu strains spread locally, with flu evolving in different directions. Then, when one strain mingles with another, a new, dominant strain can emerge.”

Maybe it’s because I’m a writer and I want to know the motivation for things, but some how, knowing WHY a virus would need to do such vicious stuff makes me feel more understanding of it.

I know. I’m sick.

Okay, so it happened. I got the flu virus that’s been going around. I knew it would happen eventually. I work in a restaurant, for god’s sake. I touch dirty dishes and have people sneezing on me all night. I don’t know why I thought I’d be immune. I wash my hands all the time and am careful not to touch my mouth or face while I’m working…But then again, I am want to share a sip of wine with my co-workers at the end of the night. I just should have known better.

So I got it. From what I can tell, it was probably some mutant strain of the Norwalk Virus or some nasty virus like that. At first I thought I had food poisoning, the way my body reacted so violently, but when I got a fever I knew it was the flu. Once I could see straight I did a little Googling to find out more about what I was dealing with. According to USA Today, this viral strain has hit CA hard and it has killed thousands of people.

I can see why. Damn.

If you’ve had this flu, you’ll know the symptoms very intimately. Goes something like this…Everything’s fine and then one minute, say at four o-clock in the morning while you’re sleeping, you’re suddenly sitting up in bed acutely aware that something is terribly wrong with the body you’re inhabiting. And you better run to the bathroom. Fast. And then, well… all hell breaks out. Maybe for like ten minutes your stomach bloats out and moves around like there’s an alien trapped inside you and you wonder—is there an alien trapped inside my body? And then you realize it’s something much, much worse than that and everything that was once inside you is immediately ejected—any way possible.

Flash forward though the nasty bits. You struggle through chills, cramps, fever and general discomfort associated with turning your insides out. You’re free of food and liquid and stay far away from anything that resembles anything with a scent. You wait through it—maybe a day or two or three– and beg for it to end. And eventually, it does if you’re young, strong or without a compromised immune system.

After two days without food, I feel more alive then ever. Almost appreciative. Granted, going through the Norwalk virus isn’t pleasant, but when it’s over, life is SOOOOO much better. I can smell food again. I can drink tea. Sip soup. Chew on a noodle or two. And for the first time in a while, I can think about the food that I’m eating in terms of nutrition and what effect it might have on my body. Because, dear reader, for the past few months (ah, admit it Brooke…Years), I’ve been eating for the taste of FOOD. Not for its benefits.

So maybe, just in time for the New Year, I’ve been given a chance to rearrange the way I think about the things I’m eating. Instead of thinking about flavor first, I’m thinking about my body, THEN flavor.

So who knows what that means. For the time being though, I’ll be doing a lot of thinking about soup. Really, really good soup.

“If you would please me—and there are thousands like me—you would write books of travel and adventure, and research and scholarship, and history and biography, and criticism and philosophy and science. By so doing you will certainly profit the art of fiction. For books have a way of influencing each other. Fiction will be much the better for standing cheek by jowl with poetry and philosophy…Thus when I ask you to write more books…I am urging you to do what will be for your good and for the good of the world at large…” Virgina Woolf

And so it is with food blogging. There is not limit to the kind of food websites there are in the blogosphere. Chowhound riles up the locals to give their two cents. The Amateur Gourmet makes short films with a dozen eggs and Broadway musical soundtracks. Orangette makes preserves for her wedding and photographs the jars with the care of an artist.

I want to stand cheek by jowl with the greats and write about the rustic restaurants I’ve discovered in small towns and the great meals I’ve made in my tiny, galley kitchen. I want to describe the flesh of a pear and the meatiness of a beautiful Barolo. I want to share my secret getaways and culinary inspirations. I want to recommend and rant. I want to photograph and document.

Food blogging not only begets writing, but it also inspires a lot of creativity in and out of the kitchen. Moved by the wry wit of the Amateur Gourmet, my pantry has become a casting agency. A big mouthed tea canister, a blustery pile of flour, a cluster of shriveled raisins would make a great cast for my culinary shoot-em up! My wedding day decorations went from the typical choices of roses and got a culinary focus when I turned to my food blogging friends for inspiration. Overly ornate centerpieces became milk bottles filled with wild flowers. My wedding bouquet smelled of mint and basil instead of lightly perfumed white roses. Complicated canapés were cancelled and rustic prosciutto wrapped breadsticks were served in their place.

There will be many journeys here and beyond my kitchen. I look forward to sharing them here with you.