Monthly Archives: December 2008

Too busy

I wound up talking to an old friend today, someone I hadn’t talked to in two years. We exchanged news (she now has a grandchild!), and then she said something about being sorry about not having called me. Well, I said, it’s not like I called you, and besides we’re both workaholics. That’s true, she said. But what I really called you about, I continued, is this…

…and then we got down to work, because of course I didn’t call her just to socialize. At this point, I guess I’m supposed to apologize for working all the time and not socializing enough. In his book Walden, Henry Thoreau opines, “Men say that a stitch in time saves nine, and so they take a thousand stitches today to save nine tomorrow. As for work, we haven’t any of any consequence.” The hell with it, I’m not going to apologize to the likes of Henry Thoreau. I like to work, and if I take a thousand stitches today it’s because it gives me joy and pleasure to do so.

Autumn watch

This morning when I got to the office, we all complained about our allergies.

“I’m getting these headaches here [pointing to sinuses in forehead] and here [pointing to ears],” said Claudette.

“I wake up in the morning and my eyes are all itchy,” said Linda, pointing to her slightly reddened eyes.

“I can’t breathe today,” I said, coughing.

We compared the benefits of Sudafed (I don’t like the way it makes me feel) and Claritin (it makes Linda drowsy), and talked about eye drops (Claudette said you shouldn’t use them more than three or four times a week).

“I just want a good cold snap,” I said. “Then I’ll be able to breathe again.”

“It’s all these rotting leaves on the ground,” said Linda.

This is the downside to global climate change. Warm autumns mean much worse allergies.