The Uncommon Cold

According to my notably feeble memory, this is the first I got sick in 2011. It looks like it's an ordinary cold. And I was two months from claiming a full year free of sickness!

For me, these bouts of sickness always begin with a scratchy or sore throat. Then it progresses to the runny nose phase that can last a few days if I'm not careful. Depending on the severity of the cold/flu, it will sometimes be followed by a fever, and sometimes with body ache. The runny nose would then switch to a stuffy nose, which means a stuffed nose and lots of mild coughing is next. Yay.

Although it's been a while since I caught a cold, this is also a short one, which is welcome. First symptoms set in this past Sunday; recovery begins tomorrow.

Fighting This Cold With My Mind

I began having a sore throat two nights ago, and now the sore throat moved on to being both a runny nose and nasal congestion. The cough phase is soon about to kick in. I hope this'll pass by Sunday. Sunday is a religious day, after all. (So is Saturday, depending on your calendar.)

MAE 4300 group meetings two nights in a row have forced me to drink coffee for dinner last night and only one banana (thanks, Taylor) tonight. Lack of sleep as a result of falling behind in my work does not help my recovery.

Instead, I will employ my mind to fight this cold (and using DayQuil capsules merely supplementarily).

In other news, a small praying mantis flew into and landed on my shirt yesterday (by Stimson Hall). Today, a small dragon fly landed on my shirt (by Weill Hall).

(Photo from my South Street Seaport set.)

Feeding the Cold

I thought that when someone was sick, he'd lose his appetite. Throughout this week, I've been eating a lot, on the order of 6 mini-meals a day. I have even had a McChicken sandwich at McDonald's, and anyone who knows me knows that McDonald's and I don't get along. I think I've even eaten a paper shred of the pepper packet; I cannot find it now.

Perfect Drug for the Job?

I took some Advil last night.

On the box, it says that it relieves runny nose, nasal congection, sneezing, itchy and watery eyes, headache, sinus pressure, and fever.

This was perhaps the first time when the OTC drug actually covers the symptoms I been showing exactly; I had all of those problems at the same time. I can't say that it worked particularly well, but it was slightly comforting to know that something in the pill was supposedly helping me. I was too much out of it, so I slept immediately after dinner.