Live from Austin!

I have an ear infection. I’m not really sure how I got it. The only thing I’ve stuck in my ear recently is a finger, so I must have nicked my inner ear with a sharp bit of fingernail or something. So now my lymph nodes are swollen and my ear aches and my head is throbbing in sympathy.

It’s my right ear. This presents a problem, as I generally sleep on my right side. Last night was largely sleepless. I went to the doctor today and got prescribed some eardrops and a course of just-in-case antibiotics.

The Prius is being repaired; the perpetrator’s insurance is paying. This meant I had the excitement of driving a Ford Taurus, and once again being reminded of how much I’ve been spoilt by having the Prius as my first car. Still, the Taurus is undeniably better than that Chevy Cavalier was.

On Sunday I made a totally fruitless attempt to purchase a Nintendo Wii. Everyone was very nice about it, though.

Nice ad from Google and 7-11:

I have no joke here, I just like saying “Turn your Slurpee into Wii.”

I have woken up without a headache. Such a wonderful thing.

Sometimes when I’m hungry or tired, I can feel my brain cloud over. It goes fuzzy, I can’t think straight, I have trouble remembering things. Sometimes I wonder if that’s how (say) George W. Bush feels all the time.

I am also ravenously hungry. I can never remember whether you’re supposed to eat under these circumstances or not. I don’t have a fever, as far as I know.

Overnight the illness moved up to the top part of my throat, and my head. On the plus side, this means I no longer sound like Bea Arthur. On the minus side, it means I have the searing agonizing headache from hell.

I’ve just gargled with a regular dose of aspirin, and I’m going to add some coffee into the mix. Normally I take half or quarter doses of everything, as I’m very sensitive to drugs. This time I’ll make an exception. Someone please make… it… stop…

I have a really sore throat. Other than that, I feel pretty OK. Hungry, even.

Just woke up a few minutes ago, finally feeling normal again. Pain, nausea, feverishness all gone. I’m wide awake, and my muscles have that slightly cramped “you’ve been in bed too long” feeling, so I think I’ll spend a little quality iMac time and catch up on my e-mail. When the rest of the world wakes up I’ll go pester the doctor; this can’t go on.

I’m back. Still got the cold, but I’m determined to make it through some of my mail. Like the 800 messages from the skunk mailing list.

It seems that 0.8% of Salon readers think it’s worth paying for. As many as that?

Sore throat’s gone, nose is under control… just waiting for the rest of my head to clear. Working from home and getting plenty of rest, so I should be completely OK tomorrow.

I guess it wasn’t anthrax after all.

Still ill. Itchy nose and eyes now, mild headache. Generally alert, though, and I think I’ll make it out the house for a while at lunchtime.

Much to my surprise, I had a great birthday.

Last night, though, I went to bed feeling congested—and woke up with a stinking head cold. I’m spending the day in bed with the PowerBook, catching up on work without actually being there, drinking lots of water, and probably taking naps. I’m hoping that if I eat this soup, I’ll feel up to going out as far as the nearest convenience store, as it looks like a beautiful sunny day, and we’re out of bread.