2007.02.19
The weather is very decent here, especially compared to what Boston seems to be slogging through, but I seem to have a knack for making warm places less warm. August 1992 in Portugal was freakishly cold (in a Mark Twain sense of "weather which will melt a brass door-knob and weather which will only make it mushy") during my three week stay. Similar winter trips to Bermuda and Florida have had similar results. Nothing you can really get upset about, it is winter after all, but still.
(Mr.Ibis and Felisdemens and I had actually been toying with the idea of attending a naturist festival, a new experience for us all, but the weather put a damper on that, much to everyone's quiet relief I think.)
But a larger block to this trip living up to its full potential is me getting socked with a big old cold, with some kind of cause and effect relationship with the most gruesome fever blister I've had in a long while, making me feel like a diseased pariah despite everyone politely ignoring it. Whether it's just the culmination of months and months of a mild case of whatever's going around that week, or that evil airplane recirculated crispy-dry air germfest thing, running into a whole new cold virus ecosystem down here, or getting a bit more sun walking around some outdoor parks, I don't know. Probably some combination.
SQUICK ALERT: I'm going to get slightly more personal than usual, though nothing too major, about Fever Blisters. Those wishing to avoid such discussion should skip down to the Links of the Moment.
Ah, Fever Blisters... (which I guess is synonymous with "Cold Sore" but for me sounds somehow marginally less disgusting) blight of my existence for, what, two and a half decades now? Factoids like
An estimated 80 percent of Americans are infected with the virus that causes cold sores and 20 percent of American adults experience recurring cold sores two to 12 times per year.are small comfort, just because I don't seem to see many afflicted people in day to day life.
I keep a log of outbreaks. 2000 and 2002 featured problems every few months; 2001 and 2005 were free of incidents. (Wow, has Abreva been on the market since 2002? (It must be effective because it costs five times the other stuff! Well, not this time, brother.))
It may well be time to start looking for some heavier artillery. In previous years I took a regular preventative dose of the antiviral Zovirax or Valtrex, but I'm instinctively not crazy about that kind of big barrel approach, especially since it's usually reserved for other forms of the virus. Another interesting product that I just sent away for is dermaseptic, a little device that zaps a prelude-area to inject silver under the skin, silver thought to have some great antiviral properties. Anecdotally I've heard some good things about it, and there even seems to be some fair amount of clinical backing. So, I guess that's where my hopes for the future rest.
Bleh. At least there's a chance I'll be recovered before my new job.
Links of the Moment
Todays theme is...books! Again. I guess.
I dig fan stuff like The Nit Picker's Guide to the Lord of the Rings, talking about the movies. So much tough love! Personally I thought they were pretty respectable versions.
The History of the Universe in 200 Words or Less. So, a small book.
Finally, bookcrossing.com is like "Where's George?" for books, where people are encouraged to leave books in the wild but chart them as they make their way around.
Quote of the Moment
A truly great book should be read in youth, again in maturity and once more in old age, as a fine building should be seen by morning light, at noon and by moonlight