Achoo!

Without fail, the change of seasons brings on a nasty cold for me. Sometimes better, sometimes worse, but always following a change in the weather. This time around it came a little later than usual, but I think I was able to hold it off through sheer force of will. Too much to worry about already, too much to do, too many hassles to make time for a cold. I made the tactical mistake, though, of pausing for a moment last week to catch my breath, which pretty much meant I was bound to succumb.

And, also in boringly predictable fashion, my cold started with a series of a half-dozen or so sneezes that come out of nowhere. By the time I’ve blown my nose after the last sneeze, the works have all gummed up, my head feels foggy, and all my energy is gone. From there, it’s just an endless cycle of naps and decongestants until I get back on my feet.

Mmmmmmm, nap, that’d be just the thing right now…

I count my blessings, certainly. I’ll certainly take occasional colds over the dizzying array of mystery ailments that might threaten me if my immune system weren’t in such good shape after years of careful monitoring and medication. It’s always been a dark irony that I was much more of a delicate flower my whole life before I became positive. Strep throat, the ailment that used to hit me about as often as colds do now, hasn’t troubled me in ages, for instance. Maybe the big difference is that I pay more attention now that the potential troubles are so much more serious. I’m far less likely to ignore the little things than when I would blithely assume whatever bug I had would soon pass. Sure it sucks to live with the threat of my system adapting to my drugs and starting to go haywire, and it certainly sucks to be dependent on regular medication to keep me on an even keel, but I guess that’s just my cross to bear.

Yes, I think a nap would be a very fine thing right about now. Pardon me, won’t you?

Friendly Neighborhood Wall-Crawlers

One of the things I really like about the Cracker Factory is the privacy. It’s got thick concrete floors and brick walls (mostly), so I don’t hear my neighbors (much — although the guy upstairs using the power saw at midnight recently is a notable exception). I have big windows, but they don’t face anything except some abandoned buildings across the street (one under renovation, in case anyone wants to be my neighbor eventually), so no one can really see inside and play Peeping Tom.

Except for the guys who showed up on scaffolding outside my big, curtainless windows this morning. I guess they’re sealing the exterior brick, judging by the fumes and the paint rollers. That’s awfully nice to see (the Swanktuary had many charms, but the landlord’s attention to the health of the building itself was not one of them), but it’s very, very unnerving to turn around and see two guys suddenly appear outside my second-story windows. My desk faces away from the window, so it’s a creepy feeling to have them watching my back while they putter around. Granted, it makes me focus on my work, like having the boss stand behind you urging you to be productive, but still…

Of course, those guys are my new best friends, and not just because they saw me in my underwear this morning. (Are you jealous?) No, just as I started thinking about this entry they tapped on the window to offer to fix my heater, with which they noticed me struggling this morning. So now I have heat, waterproof exterior walls, and two new friends who speak Russian and look like the Super Mario Brothers. Awesomeness! (No sarcasm there, by the way — it’s awesomeness!)