I had to take a sick day today because I’ve caught whatever has been passed around to just about all my friends lately. Had a fever of 103.8 last night, giving me alternating fits of chills and sweats. I got up this morning and tried to get ready for work since my temperature was down to 100, but I kept feeling all dizzy and decided I should stay home and crawl back under my covers. I woke up a little while ago and made myself some broccoli soup which I topped with bits of crispy bacon. That has made me feel a lot better. Must be the bacon…

I think I caught this sickness from Esther or Kat on Tuesday night when we went to see the NY premier of The Host, the most successful movie of all time out of Korea. The film was shown at the tiny IFC Center theater which was completely sold out for the show because the director Bong Joon Ho was in attendance and doing a Q&A session after the movie. The Host is part comedy, part big-budget monster flick. It really portrayed Americans negatively, so much so that it was laughable. The visual effects were cool, with the movement of the monster being slick and graceful unlike the lumbering Jurassic Park or Godzilla type beasts. In America, a movie like this would never last more than a few weeks, so it’s rather shocking that this was the biggest box office hit of all time in Korea. The one saving grace for me was that it featured Bae Doo Na the homely-cute actress from Linda, Linda, Linda. I call her homely-cute because she may be the only actress I’ve ever heard of who is ok with being filmed without makeup (see another of Bong Joon Ho’s movies- Barking Dogs Never Bite). Anyway, the movie was amusing, if not in the way the director intended, but it was still a fun way to kill a couple of hours. But the best part was that there was an open bar after the Q&A session. I guess if you’re the director of the highest grossing movie of all time in your country, you can afford to spring for drinks.