"There's a Cold in By Head," He Said.

The past couple of nights have been spent apart from my lovely spouse. We have a sofa, but it is possibly the most uncomfortable piece of furniture in the house. Fortunately, we have a queen size bed conspicuously crouching in one end of the basement like a goalie in the crease. It is useful for stacking clothing that we fold as we pull it from the nearby dryer. It is useful for stacking other sundries as we move them from more public parts of the house, but we haven't a clue where they belong, or if they belong at all. And when one is communicable, (and sometimes if one's partner is overly audible) it provides a convenient quarantine or sanctuary.

I'm in quarantine. We have given much of ourselves to work recently. Now from a bird's-eye view, the cubicle walls that define our workspace are similar to the scoring one makes with a pipette on a petri dish. There is a reason for this resemblance, and I am both witness and testimony to its appropriateness. In the spirit of the season, it seems that work has given to us as well.

Fluids seek their level, and that is apparently somewhere below my nose. I'm not emotional about this, but my efforts to keep those fluids hidden behind or within my prominent proboscis do sometimes leave a lump in my throat. Thank goodness for my raisin' because, if I'm outside, I can go for distance and clear my throat at the same time. If I'm inside, I still have to be somewhat discreet.

If the graphic nature of the preceding paragraph disturbs you, imagine how my sneezing, wheezing, and hacking would affect you. In deference to my colleagues and to my recovery, I stayed home today. I wasn't idle. I still checked a couple of documents and coordinated on some projects. But I was here swigging soluble vitamin C, popping tablets, and generally annoying only myself. But that is lonely. Tomorrow, I'll likely be returning to work. There's no containing the joy this brings me. I only hope I have sufficient tissues on hand.

I really should stop by the drug store and get some stuff to disinfect my cubicle. And I doubly really should begin with my coffee cup. Now there's some real culture(s).