Watching the World Around Us

So, I would like to explain to you all one of the reasons why I have fallen behind on my intense blogging. You see, as of Friday I have caught a cold. This is the first of what I am sure will be many colds to come this winter but it is the first one in my recent history and I have to say, you never are quite prepared for just how much unpleasant it really is. Therefore I decided what better topic to cover than the crippling effects of the common cold and why it is one of the single most unpleasant things to happen to the human body. Let’s break it down, shall we? A cold is a sneaky little devil, it starts out all small and innocent, then before you know it, it proceeds to ravage your body and soul. It starts out with a little tickle in the throat, a little irritating but hardly reason for concern. It’s just begun though, and it continues with a little post nasal drip and then BAM, that night it hits you. For some reason unbeknownsed to myself, colds seem to always kick it in to high gear at night. I personally believe that the reason for this is that the cold is trying to deprive you of much needed sleep so the next day it can get you with full force and make you look and sound like a complete tool in front of all of your friends, family, and professors! Don’t you love how I talk about the cold as if its just this little person running around you causing all sorts of trouble? Well that’s cause I’m in the heart of the cold and I’m not thinking straight so bear with me. Of course I forgot to mention one of the most deadly parts of a cold, DA ACHES. Now you may have noticed that my grammar in that last statement wasn’t very proper. Well neither are da aches, possibly the most unpleasant portion of a cold. It starts small with a little ache here, a little ache there, then before you know it, your head feels like a time bomb and typing on a computer feels like there are Leprauchans just running around hitting your hands with little hammers. I am not a fan, nope, no I’m not. I am however ready to tell you that I have found the secret to battling a cold. That’s right! It’s like finding the meaning of life, only better! Here’s the plan, now pay attention, first of all you have a lot of symptoms to battle and it may seem a little overbearing to do, but you can! Have faith! You need three things to survive, a pain reliever, a decongestant, and some nasal spray. Now here’s the thing, nasal spray is one of the most unpleasant devices ever created by man kind, but it works like a dream. If you have never experienced the joys of nasal spray allow me to give you an example on what it feels like to use nasal spray. I personally like to compare it to someone taking to lit cigarettes and jamming them up your nostrels, but in the end the stuff clears you out like leaf blower and you can breathe again, for a limited period of time. These aren’t the only important things however, oh no, timing is key! You can use these disease combatants all in the mid-afternoon and feel great for a while but don’t expect to be getting much shut eye that night. No, in war there must always be a solid strategy and there’s nothing more war like than the eternal battle between man and the common cold. Use your disease fighting weaponry at night about an hour before you go to bed. You can stick it out during the day but if you want to get better, sleep is the key. You should be cleared up and ache free by the time you konk out and while you won’t feel like a champion in the morning, you will have taken a big step towards relieving yourself of this horrid plague. This is sound advice I’ve shared with you today so, learn it, love it, live it. This entry may seem a bit random and maybe a little confusing, but let’s call it how it is. I bet your exchanges with the rest of the human race doesn’t resemble that of a merit scholar when you’re sick either so take it for what it’s worth. Now if you’ll excuse me I’m going to go take my own advice and peace out to dream land now. Have a good night.

– Jeff

I have a question to pose for all of you out there. Have you ever had someone, who you have never met in your life, just decide to share things to you that you would never consider sharing with a total stranger? Something that you would never had guessed about them and that you could truly go on living having never discovered that fact about them. I have found this to be something I frequently encounter in my life. Since I began working in high school I have always done jobs that involve people. Cashier at a department store Cashier at a local family owned Grocery Store, and also a desk attendant at school where I am currently working as I write this blog. Holding such positions have given me a chance to meet a lot of people and I have to say, people really like to share deep thoughts and personal business with me. I will be at my job at the grocery store and I might ask a woman who is just another customer how her day went and I’ll get a response along the lines of: “well, this is my first day out and about since I broke my hip about three months ago and well my doctor told me I couldn’t walk on it for a few months and I’ve had family members delivering food and it is really dull just sitting around your house waiting for your hip to heal. So when he finally told me that I could drive it was such an exciting thing to hear and I realized that I was in a desperate need for some eggs so I decided to come to the grocery store to pick up my groceries since I haven’t shopped in three months and I’m so excited to drive, so here I am.” To which I respond. “Would you like paper or plastic?” Don’t get confused, however, this is not limited to when I am on the service side of the equation. I have had many a cashier also share with me tales of her life that I could truly continue living without knowing. One instance that comes to mine is the instance that gave me the idea for this particular blog entry. So this week was Tuesday and for those of you who don’t know, Tuesday is the day when the new CDs of the week come out. Tuesdays are big days in my life. So I go to Keene to pick up this week’s selections and I get in line to check out and I notice an interesting exchange between the cashier and the customers in front of me. One fun fact you might not know about working a cash register is, if the receipt prints out with red ink on the sides of it, that means it is time to change the roll. So this happens to the young woman working the cash register and the customer says “Oh, I guess it’s time to change the roll.” To which she responds, “your right, the way that red ink is all over it, it’s just like DANGER WILL ROBINSON DANGER!” I must also emphasize that while saying this she starts flailing around dramatically to further dramatize the seriousness of the near empty roll of register tape. After this display the customers in front of me kind of give her a weird look and continue on their way and she turns to me as I am next in line and she says, without missing a beat, “this is why I date myself.” To which I responded with complete silence. Lesson for this blog? If total strangers decide to share their life stories with them, just go with it. It might be good for a few laughs and a PMG Blog later. Have a good weekend.

– Jeff