Dopp Juice Archive

Well, I’ve effectively pulled myself over the hump of this cold in two days. All without taking Nyquil (or Dayquil, or any other cold and sinus drug). Just ibuprofen, echinacea, GanMaoLing, soup, tea, and fruit juice. Not bad. Of course my forced rest put me behind on other things, which now adds anxiety and sets me into work mode, which decreases my immune system, which makes the last few remnants of this cold likely to stick around for another week… but hey, I think I made progress. I’d write more, but oh, I have so much work to do!

It happens at least once a year. I’m striving along with lots of work on my plate, a happy rhythm, a slight tendency to forget to sleep and eat, and WHAM! The common cold virus comes out of nowhere and wallops me upside the head with a force heretofore unexperienced by humankind. But instead a concussion, I end with a sore throat, blocked ears, and the most intense pressure somewhere around the inside of my forehead.In the past, I’ve battled colds head-on. With a sword in hand, I ran forward into it, charging toward my life-as-usual and refusing to accept my enemy as a valid presence. The cold, of course, won. It celebrated its success by lasting weeks — even months — on end. Time and time again I lamented my pain, blaming the cold for its fury. It usually takes several months before I realize this is my body’s way of saying, “Slow down. You do too much, girl. Give it a break.” But by then I’m too battle-wounded to stand. It happened today. I immediately paged my secretary in a hazy stupor and mumbled, “Cancel my next week of appointments, Janet. I have a date with Nyquil.” I lie, of course. Today, I prefer the guerilla warfare of holistic remedies to being taken prisoner by Nyquil… and also, well, Janet quit last week. She left me for a creative professional who remembers the importance of eating and sleeping. Can you believe that?I did cancel my appointments for the next day, but only to spend that time relaxing, undrugged by Western pharmaceuticals. I took echinacea and vitamin C for my immune system, as well as a Chinese herbal remedy for luck. I’ve had about 15 cups of tea today, mostly with honey and lemon. I relaxed, set my work aside, and curled up on the couch with a good movie. I must emphasize the significance of this move. I never drop my responsibilities at the first sign of a cold. Let’s consider this a test. I’ll be back with the results. If I’m missing for a few days, check my bed.* If this entry was a little incoherent or rambly (new word), I blame it on the hazy pressure writhing beneath my forehead. It wasn’t me.

The fifth day of waiting for help.
Originally uploaded by Tampen.
Coping with twins, New Orleans convention centre, Saturday 3rd September 2005

I just figured out (after many tweaks and bad posts) how to use flickr to post public images to this blog. I plan to exploit this service to the fullest extent for your aesthetic viewing pleasure (I know I’ve been a little texty lately).

And to begin with, I need to start with a Hurricane Katrina photo. Because the impact on these people’s quality of life is the most devastating of all effects. This is a woman with twins at the Convention Centre on her fifth day of waiting for help. You can see it all in her eyes. Thank you, Tampen.

I look forward to offering more images from talented photographers in the days to come.

Tech Note: If you’re also a b2evolution blogger and trying to make flickr work for you, the solution is here, with numerous tweaks (strip the layout of all formatting elements, and then slowly add them back one at a time). Comment if you need specific solutions. The Additional Secret: when flickr says “Your blog posting has failed,” check your blog anyway. It may have actually worked.