Sinus cavaties

Mine are stuffed up. I have a head cold. Today is better than yesterday though. Yesterday, I was slugging DayQuil out of the bottle on the commuter rail out to Lawrence. Today, Mucinex Sinus will do the trick.
The most miserable part of a cod or flu for me is that my throat feels like a hot gravel pit. It's always the first symptom I experience, and for me, it's the one I hate the most. Nothing makes it go away. Every other cold or flu symptom is manageable with over the counter medication. Decongestant relieves my sinuses, pain reliever quells the aches and reduces any fever, but the scratchy throat... nada. The pan reliever makes it feel slightly better, but it's still there, making every breath feel like a burst of hot ash. It makes sleeping impossible. In my daily activities I might be able to ignore it, but in the hush of my bedroom, I have nothing to preoccupy me. For the first time last night, I rubbed Vicks Vaporub on my neck. This was wonderful, combined with the Tylenol Severe Cold Multi-Symptom Night, which I like to call "The coughing sniffling, sneezing, knock your ass out for the next 12 hours" medicine, I was out for the count in a matter of minutes.
I know I used a lot of brand names, but I do it for a reason- These brands would never have to pay me to advertise their products. I get sick all the friggin' time and I would have killed myself if it weren't for the effectiveness of the the above-mentioned products.

I got Pumping Iron through NetFlix. It's an excellent 1975 documentary following the contestants in the Mr. Universe and Mr. Olympia body building competition. Two of the contestants are: Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno. The Terminator and The Hulk. This is the documentary that propelled them to fame. This documentary is text book. It's incredibly well made, and it really draws you in. You root for your favorite and by the end, you feel like you've learned something about body building. Dan insisted he didn't want to watch it, he said it wouldn't be entertaining. Five minutes in and he was hooked. That speaks volumes about the quality of this doc. It makes you a believer. Watch this documentary, it's fantastic. Even if you don't like jacked-up, muscle head guys (which I most certainly do not) you will still be greatly impressed with all they do to be champions.

Yesterday, in my wacked out, DayQuil-induced stupor, I was thinking about J. Wellington Wimpy from "Popeye." I looked him up on Wikipedia, which is how I know his full name. I also read about Popeye, and in the article about him, I found the best description of Popeye I have ever read:
"...with a gravelly voice and a casual attitude towards grammar..."
A casual attitude towards grammar. I love it.
Here comes the weird part. I leave work, walk to South Station and get on the Red Line heading towards Park Street. A group of young men are loudly conversing:
"Yeah, Wimpy's a guy from Popeye. I'll gladly give you a dollar today for a hamburger, you know?"
One of his friends them surmises that Popeye must have abused Olive Oyl because she was so skinny. Another then asks:
"What does how fat or skinny a girl is have to do with getting beaten up?"
"She's too skinny, she clearly has depression issues."
I was creeped out. What are the chances that a cartoon character I randomly look up on Wikipedia will surface a few hours later in the overheard conversation of a fellow public transportation passenger?
Something strange is afoot in the subway system.

A blue jay has decided that the fire escape outside my living room window is the perfect place to perch and bray at the world. It's very loud. My cat couldn't care at the least.

My fire escape is a funny thing. It has no ladder leading to the alley below. It's more like a metal balcony with no decent floor. If my building was on fire and I couldn't escape out my door, I'd have to climb out the window onto the fire escape, wait, and hope the fire department sends some help around to the back of the building. So, in reality, it's a fire stranded, not a fire escape.
I heard once the reason these back bay buildings have no ladder on their fire escapes is to reduce break-ins and people sleeping on the fire escapes. With all of our modern technology, is there really no solution to this problem. Like say, a ladder that can only be extended to the ground from the fire escape? Maybe I should buy a rope ladder just in case. I also need to buy renter's insurance.
I also need to go clean the apartment.

Sinus cavaties