Midsummer Cold, or How I Learned to Take a Break

My summer has been completely overbooked – mostly in a good/fun way, but I often feel hurried and rushed, like I am not doing anything “one-hundred percent” – whatever that means. Without fail, DC last weekend was a blast. I have been attempting to do a blog re-cap, but have failed miserably thus far to complete it – hopefully I will produce something of merit soon.

Unfortunately I returned from DC a tad worse for wear. Was it the germ-infested game of “flip cup,” the plane flight, or the cold Nicki had before I left for the east coast? We may never know just who is to blame – but the outcome has been significantly crappy. I almost never get sick, and when I do I usually put myself on an over-the-top Airborne/Cold-eze regimen that rarely fails. Well, my plan is not foolproof, because as I stepped back onto California soil, my souvenir was a full-blown debilitating cold.

It is strange how fast you become accustomed to having certain people in your life. After a few days with Kim, I get used to having her around – and the realization that my visit with her (and other friends out east) is indeed ephemeral, leads to a brief but persuasive sadness. And while I don’t necessarily excel at sharing small spaces (I kinda like to spread my stuff about) the relief of having my own room again does not make up for their absence. And the cold didn’t help this time – as I couldn’t throw myself back into my normal routine: biking, running, reading, writing. Instead, upon my return, I slept, missed my friends, daydreamed and attempted to entertain myself from the confines of my little room.

Yesterday I felt like the worst of my cold was over – it no longer seemed to affect my energy level. Back to my old self, I quickly became frustrated with the lack of hours in a day. I have been drawn into this great novel that won the Booker prize about a decade ago, A.S. Byatt’s Possession. While I would like to pretend some of the other novels I have been reading of late (Twins of Tribeca and The Secret History of the Pink Carnation) have some literary merit – in the end these fluffy pieces pale in comparison to Possession. Finally, a guilt-free novel where I don’t feel like I am simply doing the reading equivalent of watching television. Byatt stretches my mind – discussing fake yet realistic Victorian poets, literary deconstruction, academic politics in the feminist years and parallel Victorian and post-modern romances all at once. But at the same time, it wasn’t guilt-free. Now that I had my energy back I wanted to go for a bike ride, a run and also get caught up on all my pre-PhD application reading that I seem to have let slide since I rediscovered novels. So I prioritized and decided that I could only deign to put Possession down for a short run outside – no time for a bike ride, no time for a car ride to the gym. I was truly engrossed. And after my run I got right back into my bed again with my book – because the truth is, I jumped the gun on the physical exercise front and have been coughing up a lung ever since.

So this lovely quiet Friday evening, while my friends are out and about, I am socializing with Harriet (the cat I live with) and her owners – taking it easy, writing for my blog in the beautiful backyard I will soon no longer occupy, trying to learn how to enjoy downtime, and thinking about the rest of the summer. Every weekend is planned from here on out – two more weddings, Sen’s coming visit (otherwise known as a month of 80-hr weeks in rotation at the Children’s Hospital), Mormor’s 85th birthday party next weekend in Redding and a major bike ride in Napa. Speaking of bike rides, I better get back in bed soon because I promised Elena (see engagement announcement) that I would meet her for a bike ride to (not up) Mt. Diablo and back tomorrow morning at 8AM. 50 miles on my bike – just what the doctor ordered!