Out Here They Could Call It A Slightly-Chilly

After circling around me for about three weeks, causing a little extra fatigue here and there, the occasional headache, and some extra morning nasal congestion, the cold finally pounced on me yesterday. Which isn't really that surprising. While I don't consider myself to be particularly sickly, I recognize that every once in a while I'm going to get sick. I usually have to deal with a cold or two as the winter months progress.

(I do know people that consider their immune systems impenetrable to illness. They're the kind of people who would show up at work with 103 degree fevers and insist they just had the heat up too high in their car. They, in turn, got everyone around them sick due to their stubbornness. This would be fine, if they didn't then turn around and say that anyone who got sick in their wake was "weak" for letting an illness affect them. These people are jerks.)

The strange thing about this was the context. I've never gotten a winter cold when living in a place that has no winter. Sorry, Angelinos, but having to wear a sweater because it dips into the 50s at night doesn't cut it. It felt strange stumbling out of bed at 1:30pm today to see blue sky and palm trees still existing outside my window. Maybe I had just had a good run through the fall and early "winter" months - but I think part of me really thought that by avoiding snow and slush, I would sidestep these annual bouts of infirmity.

Alas, that was not to be. So Tuesday morning I banged in the day at work and slept until 12:30pm. Then I went to bed at 11 (you may not know that's early if you haven't yet received a nocturnal email from me) and slept for 14 and a half hours. In the meantime, I spent my waking hours zoned out in a Snuggie, watching random soccer matches, World Baseball Classic games, and reruns of various Vh1 countdown shows. I felt so lethargic, I didn't even get around to completing a shower for over 60 hours.

(In my defense on that point, I started to bathe myself Tuesday morning, but it was showerus interruptus because my building shut off the water mid-day to do some maintenance. Just my luck.)

My throat remains scratchy and if I take too deep a breath I start coughing - but I think we're on the downslope of this thing. Thanks to copious amounts of DayQuil, Zicam and special deliveries of Yogurtland by Lisa. Hopefully, I've successfully served my Sick Duty for the season, and can avoid a relapse. If I don't, well, cable and the Snuggie are always there for me.

Why I Am Not Awesome: Given that I had two solid days with all mundane commitments pushed aside due to this cold, I could have gotten a solid chunk of work done on my various writing projects. Instead I loafed around and accomplished nothing. Sure, I have the mild illness itself as an excuse. Nevertheless, I find that I never spend as much time as I should dedicated to doing that which I want to dedicate myself to (if that makes sense). Somehow, it's too easy for me to kill time instead of being productive. I've gotten better at this, but it remains an issue I have to consciously deal with in order to improve myself.

Why I Am Awesome: I rooted for Liverpool, Netherlands and Josh - everyone I support wins! I also took a shower tonight, which is awesome for us all.