The Ninth Strange Day

Someone just got two tickets to see Janeane Garofalo at Ram’s Head Live.

And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.

Buy yours today.

Kitti: Think we’re going to get much snow on Wednesday?

Me: I’ll be surprised if we get any.

Kitti: But they said on TV…

Me: Television also tells me that people can fly, Hugh Laurie is American, and cheerleaders are indestructible, but I don’t believe any of that, either.

So after something like a month of not writing anything, the cold is finally going away and the brain is working again. Working-ish, because the workings of my mind have never been normal.

Anyhow, woke up inspired this morning and started writing. Half-asleep, no coffee. I drew a blank on a character name and rather than angst over it, I just filled in the first word that came to mind and kept going.

I stopped to reread what I’d called this person — this 27 year old male cop — and…

I don’t know. I’m really tempted to keep his name “Officer Doodlebug”.

Monday I woke up feeling crappy. Stuffed up, weak, aches everywhere. The usual flu symptoms. I was miserable. Tuesday was a little better, but Wednesday was worse. I was at work and going between chills and sweating. I spent the better part of a meeting with my back to the camera so the people on the other end of the video feed wouldn’t have to see me blowing my nose.

So after infecting the entire office and attending all the meetings I needed to attend, I stayed home yesterday and today. I slept a lot. I’ve been drinking water like crazy. I’ve been so stuffed up that I was breathing through my mouth. I’d wake up every few hours with my throat and mouth so dry it was painful.

I took a nap this afternoon. Sometime after twelve I fell asleep. I woke up around two and felt so much better. I’m still a little stuffy, but it’s just one side of my nose now and I don’t have the nausea-inducing, dizzy sinus pain headache, and I’m not coughing so hard I think I’m going to black out. So I’m not 100%, but compared to how I felt on Wednesday I might as well be a completely different person.

This does not mean that I’m not a different person. For all I know I’m an alien replicant of myself. If this body doesn’t get sick as often, I’m all for it.

Anyhow, I’ve been watching daytime television (Law & Order) because that’s what you do when you’re home sick, and there’s been an ad on for something called TamiFLU. The deal is that you call your doctor and get this magical pill within 12 to 48 hours of the first symptoms of the flu and it’ll help you get over it about 30% faster than without treatment.

Here’s the thing:

1. If you have flu symptoms, what are the chances you’ll actually get to see a doctor within 12 to 48 hours of onset? Most of the time they tell you to give it a few days and then call back. Then you might need to wait a day or two to see someone. Even if they do say “come right in”, “right in” is still usually a day or two before they can fit you in.
2. Thirty percent sooner is roughly a day. You can take a drug that will maybe shorten your flu by as much as a day and a third. Maybe.
3. Side effects may include: self-injury and delirium, nausea and vomiting, allergic reaction, muscle ache, dizziness, and difficulty sleeping.

So. The side effects. Are a lot like the flu. Hrm. I can’t believe I haven’t rushed off to the doctor to get this miracle drug!

Seriously, though? One of the things that made me feel a lot better was a bottle of aloe vera juice. Yummy!

I’ve had The Sims 2 for a while.

I got Nightlife when it was released and was overjoyed to find out that it now included vampires, and the ability for my Sims to become vampires. Which really tells you how easy I am to amuse.

But then… Pets! I’d had the Pets expansion pack for the original Sims, and I was really glad they added it for Sims 2.

First of all, the attention to detail is amazing. The cats are very catlike and do catlike things, including standing in the middle of the living room and screaming at 4 in the morning because they don’t know where their people are. When a cat likes someone completely they think “Mine”. They like to sit on counters and sleep in the middle of the bed. Sometimes the Sim just sighs and sleeps on the couch rather than move the cat. Awesome.

So far no one’s coughed up anything. That’s one vast improvement over the real thing.

But then I found out something I had no idea existed in the game….

Ohhhhhhh BAby!