Sickness Dragging On

I really had hoped and even expected to be over this lingering cold by now.  It goes in cycles from where I am not that bothered by it to days like today where I simply cannot get my runny nose under control and I feel like complete crap.  I don't think I've been completely healthy since the accident, and it is possible that my white blood cells are still dealing with that and not fighting the cold.

Anyway, I took the whole weekend off from going to the gym, so I feel a bit guilty about that.  As it happens, I still did not really take it easy the rest of the time (as I should have).  I went and saw two plays on Saturday (both closing, so I didn't have a lot of choice in the matter), and then today I spent some time cleaning up in preparation for a visit from my father-in-law.  I did squeeze in a nap though, and I did leave a few tasks undone (which will then kind of nag at me unless I can do them tomorrow).

But what I really need is to get enough sleep, so I'll be heading to bed soon (and not catching up on the blog).  I do hope that I feel better tomorrow, but I don't expect any miracle cures.

As it happens, I am skimming quickly through the poetry of Fernando Pessoa, and I see he has a poem that starts "I have a bad cold."  How appropriate.  In general, his poetry doesn't do that much for me, though this one definitely caught my attention.  The entire poem is here.

Pessoa aside, my main reading is T.C. Boyle's The Road to Wellville, which is about how J.H. Kellogg, purveyor of corn flakes, built an empire on restorative cures (and strict vegetarianism) that was basically one step removed from pure quackery.  His theories were not so far different from Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop and probably not much less harmful...  More than anything, it points to how hope triumphs over experience (and even rationality) when it comes to people trying to regain their health and, in some sense, trying to cheat death.  I don't think I'm at death's door, but I would certainly welcome a super pill to knock out this cold for the rest of the winter.