ABQ Crud, you need to leave town. Like, now.

There is no better way to describe how I have felt the last couple days other than to use the term, “crud.”  Seriously, this crap has been going around ABQ now for the past few months and especially around my animal hospital.  We get very few sick days per year, so as a result, people come in when they are feeling less than their best.  With my department, we are constantly shifting around from one computer to another, so the passage of germs is pretty rampant, no matter how clean and antiseptic we try to keep the place.

It’s just getting annoying.  I have been sick now at least twice this winter, and it’s only January.  I never used to get sick like this, even at Harvard where we shared the computers at the reference desk.  I don’t know what it is.  And this cold has been weird.  It started in my chest, unlike the normal route which is via the head, wanting me to shoot my head off from the pressure, the draining of the nose back and forth all night, leading to no sleep, and then that oh so sexy voice you get when the frog lands in your throat. No, this one started with the cough, which I am sorry to say, is still here with me as we speak.  But yesterday, the nose started running like, yes, a faucet, if I may use a cliche.  Consequently, my sleep last night was less than stellar.  I had to keep turning from side to side so I could breathe.

On Sunday, I asked two of our intern doctors if I sounded sexy, and they said I sounded like my male co-worker from whom I got this lovely bug.  I’m positive I sounded sexy as hell on the PA system.  I only lasted 6 hours of my shift, and then threw in the towel.  Enough was enough.  I drove home in a daze until i got to CVS where I could buy sore throat spray, Ricola throat drops, and some awesome Mucinex DM.  (Seriously, Mucinex is the BOMB!)

I’ve been getting a lot of sleep, coughing up a bunch of yellow/green stuff (appetizing, isn’t it?) and trying to not make my nose sting when I apply moisturizer to my face.  (You all know what your nose feels like when you’ve used about half a box of tissues w/lotion on them on it, right?)  And trying to not think about the fact that I will be using a precious vacation day for one of these days I have spent at home.

So yeah, um, if this crud that has taken up residence in ABQ this past winter, could just go on a vacation, that would be great, okay? Thanks.   It’s hard to think about achieving your dreams when all you want is for the wheezing in your chest to stop.

Thankfully, I have my Snuggles next to me at night, snoring away, his head sharing the same pillow with me. (We’re so cute when we cuddle like that, it’s ridiculous.  If you don’t believe me, ask my roommate.)  For those of you who are new to the blog, check out my page, The Herd, and you’ll see a pic of him there.  Because he’s the newest member, you have to scroll all the way to the bottom.  (And since there’s no other way to categorize this post, I think I’ll lump it under “Gratitude” because I’ve been able to snuggle next to him a lot these past few days.)

Here’s hoping that all of you out there don’t get sick this winter, and if you do, that it doesn’t last long. Take lots of cold–eeze once you feel it coming on, that’s my advice.  And Mucinex, even if it’s just a little sniffle. (Don’t worry, the store brand of Mucinex works just as well.)

Do any of  you have some sure-fire ways to fight colds when you feel them coming on? If so, share them below!  We can all learn something from each other!

As always, thanks for reading.

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