Mavis Staple by way of green chunks

Saturday evening, gray skies and pattering rain, listening to A Prairie Home Companion on WNYC, making soup for my finally-have-a-break head cold.  Earlier I sorted through my closet, purged anything that has not been used within the last year, with many memories of physical pursuits and academic head bashings from cooler times.  I miss autumn.  It will be here soon.

Other parts of the afternoon were spent deciphering the differences between Fort Collins and Colorado Springs.  They both have my attention as I think forward to autumn of next year, when I will (hopefully) be somewhere within the Colorado front range.  Told the kitties today "In a year you'll be mountain kittehs!"  Merus rotated one ear, Sadie sniffed the air.  Cat food needs no adjustment for elevation, but they'll probably enjoy having a larger home to sprint around and hide things.  Then again, they've lived their entire 3 years thus far in NYC apartments and may not know what to do with all the space.  But imagine the new smells I'll bring home on my running shoes.... 

The end of school is in sight enough that I can ponder decisions that will lead to life following school.  It is nice to think about that.  In the mean time, I am glad for these three weeks off.  Camping, running, civilized time with friends, reading, researching neuroplasticity (for my own interest's sake), making videos of various escapades, taking the cats to the vet, visiting family and friends in KC, finally running the road ultra.  Lots to enjoy.

This head cold has given me quite the Mavis Staple impression.  Three days ago I woke to a scratchy throat, then Friday brought chunky green snot and sneezing.  Last night added a pressurized head.  Today the green is in full force, same with the alto voice. 

Not the first time I've become sick following a long stint of stress, though glad that it is merely a head cold instead of hospital grade flu like last fall.  We were similarly given no break between a 9 week speed semester and a 6 week affiliation, kind of a miniature version of the spring and summer to come.  The Friday before Christmas was our last day.  The next morning I had a nice long run of bridge repeats with a friend, but with increasingly sapped energy by the end.  Figured it was chilling off too much drying sweat.  By the time I got up to Nathan's place that afternoon I felt the achy spots along my back starting to merge.

My greeting was rather blunt.  "What are the symptoms of pneumonia?!?" I begged, crawling into the fetal position on his hardwood floor.

"Hi.  What?"

"What are the symptoms of pneumonia?!?"

"I don't know."

"Look.  Them.  Up."

So began a weekend of 101 to 103 degree fever and all the regular flu trimmings.  The fever broke four days later, four hours before my plane took off for Kansas City for the holiday that became twice as long as expected due to the NYC blizzard.  Fun times.  Anyway, I'll take green chunks and a productive cough over that flu any day.  I can still get stuff done and enjoy myself.

Here's the kittehs fighting over who gets to lay on my CPI (Clinical Performance Instrument, i.e. my final).  Sadie may be at least two pounds lighter than Merus, but she still manages to throw Merus off the bed.   By the time they were finished the original reason for fighting was lost.  No matter, still entertaining for me.  (The epic reminder: follow the YouTube link to see it without the ends cut off by formatting restraints.)