Sheepie Cold Watch '07

It has been suggested by several commenters that, if I expect a full and genuine showering of internet sympathy as I suffer through the horror that is My Annual Fall Cold, I should break my self-imposed ban on Friday blogging. This will allow everyone to work pitying me into their busy schedules and decrease the likelihood that anyone will forget about my Cold. (as if you could...) I'm on it. If it gets me a few "awwww's" or "poor little thing's" then I'm all for the rule-breaking. Here are the highlights as of this writing:

*Fall Cold '07 remained in full force this morning, complete with the drippy nose, sinus pressure and frenzied sneezing.

*Also influencing behavioral patterns today was the lack of sleep I managed to experience last night. This added to the loveliness of my overall presentation this morning as I arrived at school.

*As the day progressed, the Fall Cold moved to points south. It abandoned its stronghold in my head and moved into my throat and chest. Nose blowing was still observed, though. The good thing about the chest cold is that, while you don't feel quite as hideous as you do with the sinus stuff going on, you sound worse. By noon, my voice was all husky and broke sort of pathetically when I tried to hit a high note. This happened often because I was whining about my Fall Cold all day and this requires a certain amount of keening. Raspy voice was the cause of a great deal of sympathy for the Sheep. Everyone had to be nice to me. Even the mean people. It was awesome.

*By day's end the school nurse became involved in the proceedings. All who expressed concern about my possible Pertussis exposure can rest easy. There was more discussion around this problem and its possible connection to my coughing than I'd expected, but it seems that my exposure to the Dreaded Whooping Cough was little, if any.

*They're still making me get a booster shot, though. Like most people my age, the last time I had a vaccination against Pertussis was at the tender age of 7. Now they have one for grown-ups to account for the decline in protection after a Sheep lives on the planet for a million or so years. Fear not, though. The issue is more that I work with lots of kids, not that Pertussis is a real threat to adults, even those who have a history of pneumonia and are being made to go get booster shots that will probably hurt.

*Dr. Judy was giddy at the thought of getting to do another procedure on me. I tend to avoid all but the most basic of medical care and whenever she has an opportunity to poke me with something sharp, she leaps in with a syringe in both hands.

*Hysterical Mind has not fully processed the fact that we will be getting a shot, going to the dentist and taking the truck in for an inspection all on the same day. Rational Mind, after slipping horribly the other day with regard to mentioning the possible threat of exposure to bad germs, is sensibly keeping quiet at this point.

*I am taking lots and lots of NyQuil and snuggling under the Berber fleece blankie that I picked up at the craft show a couple of weeks ago. All in all, this is not such a bad way to spend The Annual Fall Cold. I even picked up some nice chocolate/chocolate chip muffins on the way home as a little treat.

*But they are sugar-free and this is not what a sick person should be eating. In fact, I suspect it might make me even sicker to not have the sugary goodness coursing through my system.

*There's no booster shot for that. Not yet anyway...

*I have knit nothing. Not one stitch. Tracking the progress of The Annual Fall Cold is rather time consuming, you know.

*Let the sympathy and general cooing over my condition begin.

SA