Sickness is like a disease, you know?

It's a cold. I don't know why they call it a cold, I don't feel very cold. I feel like a mental fog has enveloped my brain. I get these now and then, no more than one or two a year, spaced just far enough apart to make each one a surprise. I'd prefer my surprises to be pleasant ones.

It started Monday afternoon. After I had played golf. The sore, scratchy throat first. Followed by a mild headache. And a slight stuffiness in my sinuses. All of my illnesses affect my sinuses, it seems. This one has been no different. My main weapon against things like this is Alka-Seltzer. Not the plain old "plop, plop, fizz, fizz" blah tasting hangover remedy but the new blah tasting ones that are supposed to alleviate the symptoms of colds and influenzas. They do... somewhat. At least they make the symptoms more tolerable.

I am one of those people who would rather suffer through a cold or flu on my own than have people fawn over me. Not that I am opposed to the fawning, it's just ingrained in me to be irascible when sick. It's probably genetic, my father was the same way. We would rather be martyrs, suffering alone... which is contradicted by the fact that we make sure everyone knows we are sick. No point in suffering if no one knows you are.

Our bodies are home to thousands of bacteria and, I suppose, lots of viruses also. Nobody mentioned those in biology class, though. There's a delicate balance most of the time between the good and the bad. When we get sick, it's because the balance is upset in some way. At least, that's the way I see it. I could be entirely wrong. It doesn't matter, there is no cure for this; what they call the common cold. They know that it is a virus. They know it is temporary and that, eventually, the body defeats it.

You can take medicines to ease the symptoms and help you function (during which you can spread it to colleagues, friends, and family) and it will take about 7 days to get over. Or you can do nothing at all and it will last about a week.

I have 5 more days to go.