Keeping up with one of my new year’s resolution to “blog regularly,” I report to you ,tonight, with a scratchy throat and the occasional insomnia. Right about now, when my throat feels like it’s rubbing sandpaper, do I really wish I would have heeded my mother’s sage advice to “bundle up and take a jacket.”
Two days ago, I decided to check the mail. I ran outside in socks in the 30 degree weather in short sleeves and pj pants. Later, the next day, I drove around town in the freezing temperature without my coat. It wasn’t that I had forgotten my layers of clothing, it’s just that I can’t seem to drive with heavy coats on because I feel like I can’t maneuver the steering wheel properly when weighted down. In a way, you could say I brought this upon myself with all the exposure to the cold winds. I woke up nauseated and with a wicked soreness in the throat. I took the day off, little did I know that I’d be spending it recuperating. Now, I’m not one who favors taking medicines, but I am a big fan of taking natural remedies. I’ve been drinking hot green tea with lemon and honey all day, while watching countless movies, dozing off here and there. The one thing I enjoy about colds is Luden’s wild cherry throat drops. 
My first encounter with these delectable treats was at church at the wee age of six, when a dear friend of mine slipped one in my hand when she saw me struggling to suppress a wicked case of the coughs. I swear these things are better than most candies out there! While I’m at home, bundled up, finally taking my mom’s advice, I’ll be popping these occasionally. The only problem is that I can’t seem to kick this noxious feeling.
I’ve managed to catch up on some reading while I’m stuck at home. I’m reading two books at the moment: Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose, and Steven D. Levitt’s Freakonomics. Two completely different subjects but equally entertaining. I finally finished watching “8 1/2,” Italian Filmmaker, Federico Fellini’s work of art. It is a complex, interesting, and lucid film about the chaos that an Italian director encounters when making a film. The time lapses between his fantasies and reality in the film are different but oddly seem to flow. It is definitely a classic film. I’m currently watching “Persepolis,” hoping that I’ll drift to sleep and get in a few hours of sleep before I have to wake up for work tomorrow morning. UGH!!! I’m really wishing I could fall asleep right now!
Here’s to Luden’s Cough Drops and Great Movies!
-Ari
