being sick

sucks.

I was tempted to leave it at that. Since it's so true.

Last Wednesday afternoon I started feeling yucky. I can tell, its just that run down feeling. When you get up from a chair you moan a bit more than you normally do. Changing directions while heading somewhere in that sonambulatory walk causes you great grief and pain, and moaning. It started Wednesday. By Thursday morning, I knew it was full on, and I refused to goto work or wake up. I took it easy that day, and sat on the couch. Resting. Medicating. Resting. By Friday, IT had moved. IT is the malevolent name I call the unseen force working its way through my body, making slight alterations to it, all for the negative. IT started in my throat. IT remained there for a while, but got bored and branched out to other areas, touching it with its tentacles of hate, rendering that newly touched object functioning at 60% capacity. One by one IT makes its way across my body, inside and out, wreaking havoc. By Saturday IT had logged a full frontal attack on my sinuses, yet without the normal quantity of Mucus. Odd. IT had found a way to generate all the pain and discomfort of a sinus attack without any of the mucus to make me feel like I was waging war on IT by dispelling the foul liquid. IT finally relented by Sunday, allowing me the false sense of accomplishment by my forcibly removing as much of the foul substance as I could stand. Until my nose felt like it had lost a battle with several pipe cleaners. Thus Monday found me wondering around the land with a container of water in hand, in a fetal attempt to keep my throat wet, and a roll of toilet paper. Having given in to IT completely, I didn’t care if I wandered the inhabited world with a roll of toilet paper. When asked why, within minutes I was able to demonstrate the need and use of the tool that was always by my side. Yet, today, Tuesday, I awake without the telltale signs that I am still being inhabited by IT. IT seems to have vacated. All that is left of IT now is the bits and parts of my body that are still following ITs last instructions. They will do so for the rest of this day, and hopefully forget those foreign orders soon, returning to normal capacity and operating instructions. I hope. Because being sick sucks. And being sick for more than 1 day continues to suck.

 

helping friends

One of our dear friends, the Richins Family, is moving out of their home of a billion years, into a rental, while they look for the perfect home to die in. After 20 some years aof accumulation, they had quite a bit of stuff. We, as an entire family, went to their old home and helped them load up all they owned and move it a block to the rental home. To make it interesting, it was cold and snow was everywhere around us, which makes moving interesting. We took 2 truck loads over to their rental, with the first load being packed by TJay. He loves to pack trucks and gets great joy out of cleanly stacking things as high as possible, filling the space as well as possible. The second truck load contained many odd shaped items and could not be as packed as tightly as the first truck load.
We started around 10am and figured we'd give a few hours of help to this family before being done. However, in the end, we spent over 6 hours with them, and this comprised many trips back and forth, moving many boxes and items, along with removal of enormous snow drifts both in front of and behind the new rental home. Much energy was expended by all Belt Family members. Much sweat was created. Happy memories of helping, working and being together with our immediate family and those Richins we have adopted into our family as more than mere friends. A Saturday well spent.

Chili Cook Off

Tomorrow, our company will be having its annual Chili Cook Off.
Last year I entered a white chicken chili into the contest, and took 3rd place. Woohoo.
This year, i will put a little more time into the preparation of the meal, and cross my fingers. I have also submitted this description to the judges to describe my chili.

This award winning chili boasts a spicy yet full and soothing flavor. It accosts your senses with is seemingly simple algorithm of culinary delights. While is seems smooth and creamy, it will punch you in the gut in a way that you will gladly ask for more. Its assortment of rapturous ingredients may have as well been picked by the gods of our ancestors when they initially descended to inspect this dish and judge it worthy of the term the mere mortals had dubbed it with; ambrosia. Eat up me hearties, yoho!

I hope that above all, it tastes ok, and someone enjoys it. At best, I win something for the effort. At worst, its simply enjoyed.