Just so you know...

...the fever I referred to in my last post didn't kill me dead.  I've just been... well, part of it is that I've been having those zombie days that I was talking about a while ago. But here's the other thing: since a few days before going home, I've been trying to quit smoking.

Yup.  Again.

How is this keeping me from blogging, you ask?  Well, it's complicated.  See, I managed to make it through the ugly first few days of withdrawal because I was alternately a) sick with a fever; b) preparing to leave Blarg City for home; c) on a transatlantic flight.  So that's good.  But there's that psychological thing that tells me, whenever I'm home: "Hey!  Isn't it about time for a smoke?"

So, I've been attempting to distract myself by gorging on sugar, starch, and a couple of TV series that I'd been wanting to check out (11 episodes of "Justified" in a single day?  Check).

Why, you may ask, not do something healthier? Don't I do yoga?  Well, the other thing is that I've got a nasty case of "quitter's flu." That's when your body starts to turn traitor on you.  And the unkindest cut of all is that the symptoms it involves are the ones that you would think you'd suffer if you were smoking: persistent sore throat, sinus congestion, and a hacking cough.  It's disgusting.  And the congestion means that I can't do stuff that has my head below my heart, or that requires any sort of balance. Which is about 95% of yoga. So I'm stuck with sugars, carbs, TV... oh, and I've found that sugared fennel seeds are working for me as a sort of weird substitute. Probably nothing magic about the thing in particular; it's just what's working for me at the moment.

In any case, Mr. B. is landing for a four-day visit in a couple of hours. That should provide a good distraction.  And when I return, I'll tell you tales of how I've already overcommitted myself for the upcoming semester.  'Cause that's how I roll.