Swine Flu's Second Cousin

I’ve not been blogging much lately because I’ve been a sick puppy. It wasn’t the swine flu but it was probably a second cousin to it.

My boss actually sent me home from work last Wednesday because I was emanating cappuccino-machine sounds from my office. I had a fever of 37.9 when I got home. (I still have a thermometer from when I lived in Canada and haven’t bothered to buy a new one.) I stayed home on Thursday and Friday.

I managed to make a big pot of 16-bean stew to nourish me through the whole endeavor but ended up eating pizza instead. I couldn’t attend choir rehearsal on Saturday. My voice had been so rattly that I could sing a low A -- the one two octaves below middle-C. That was scary. However, on Sunday I was feeling much better and was back in choir with my fellow tenors.

I remember being sick as a kid. My brother and I seemed to have more than our fair share of tonsillitis growing up. My mom or grandmother (Budgie) would supply us with the usual fare consisting of grilled cheese sandwiches. They made them with longhorn cheddar and mayonnaise – I loved them that way. But there was also the ubiquitous Campbell’s Tomato Soup -- a most vile substance if there ever was one. To this day whenever I see the tomato soup commercial and hear the narrator singing its praises, I become a Republican and shout, “You lie!”

Another reason I haven’t blogged is because my computer caught a much worse virus than I did. And it didn’t make it.

It kept giving me messages like “I have to shut down in a most unusual way” and then it would just freeze up. It was a horrible virus. I fed it grilled cheese sandwiches with mayonnaise, but alas, it didn’t make it.

So, I ordered a new one. After all, having a new one sent is immensely easier than trying to spend any amount of time on the phone with a technician in India. Also, you can customize PCs now and I was able to order one in blue. Having a blue computer was exceedingly important to me. I’m also looking forward to using Windows 7.

I’m really glad my illness wasn’t worse. After all, I have to go to Peoria next week for work. And if you recall, the Applebee’s in East Peoria is just about the best in the state.