The rumors of my death are almost true. I have been so, so sick the last couple of weeks. I actually missed four days of work, and not for something fun like getting a hair cut or going out with friends. Nay, I spent those four days lying on my couch, or on my bed, or on the bathroom floor, sick as a person who is sick. It started as a sore throat, and the next thing I knew, I had a fever, a headache, a cough, a runny nose, and vomiting. It was awful, and I easily could have taken a few more sick days. I missed Oct. 20th – 22nd, and then I tried to go back to work for a few days thinking I was better. Then on the 27th I work up and could hardly breathe, so I finally went to the doctor. She immediately sent me home from work with antibiotics and strict orders to not return to work until I was fever-free. Well, I wasn’t fever-free until two days ago, but I went back to work on Friday. I just couldn’t miss anymore work! I did a tally of days worked in October vs. days I did not, and it looks like I was the big winner! I took seven days off to go to Maui (although, only 6 were in October), then four and a half sick days, for a total of 10 1/2 days missed! I only worked nine and a half days in October. I beat The Man!

Besides my brush with death, lots of other things have happened. As Uncle Grambo would say, I will give it to you, “bullet stizz.”

• I went to Boston with Leigh and Walshy. We took the China Town Bus, and it was great! I enjoyed lots of sleeping and minimal weird smells. I loved looking at the beautiful fall leaves as we drove through Connecticut. Once we arrived in Boston, Walshy took us all over town before we settled in at the Cask ‘n’ Flagon, the famous bar behind Fenway’s Green Monster. It was loads of fun until two things happened: The Yankees took the lead in the game (they eventually won 19-8), and I almost got kicked out of the bar. Apparently, it is against the law for a woman to enter the men’s bathroom. I had been waiting in line to use the women’s room for approximately 87 hours when a man exited the men’s room and herded a group of us suffering women into his empty bathroom. Upon my exit, however, I was grabbed by a bouncer and he told me I had to leave! I kinda ran away, but darn that bouncer, he found me! Luckily, Leigh is a quick thinker and asked for the manager. The manager took pity on me and our defense that I was just in from California and didn’t know the laws out in Massachusetts. I mean, really! Against the law! Those signs are just a suggestion, come on. Walshy and I were super-pissed about our near-eviction, and while normal people would take their business elsewhere, we decided to “teach them a lesson” by NOT leaving. Yeah, we’re smart. The next morning Walshy and I were HURTING, while Leigh was Little Miss Peppy. Walshy and I were troopers, though, and still walked all over town with Leigh. My recurring quote was, “I need to keep walking or I need to lie down.” At one point, we were at Faneuil Hall, where there just so happens to be a Baja Fresh. Walshy and I both felt so crappy that we couldn’t even go inside to order something for later. Needless to say, on the four and a half hour drive back to New York, Walshy and I were pretty pissed at ourselves.
• My mom came to New York, then left, then came back! She flew in on the 18th and left on the 19th to go visit her friend in Connecticut, then returned on the 23rd for the weekend. She conveniently missed the worst days of my illness. I know she planned it that way! Over the weekend we took it pretty easy. On Friday we had an easy dinner and then watched TV. On Saturday we went to the Chelsea Flea Markets, then to see “The Grudge,” and finished the night by watching USC pound Washington in football. Then Sunday, it was her birthday! We had lunch at Serendipity, got manicures, had champagne, shopped a bit, and went to a yummy dinner. It was a great visit!
• The Red Sox beat the Yankees and then won the World Series! I was lying on the floor of my apartment at the time but I could still hear the cheering from outside. I was surprised with how many people were pro-Red Sox! Or perhaps they were just anti-Yankees. Anyway, staying up late during those games seriously did nothing to improve my health, but it was totally worth it. Best playoffs in years.
• Tara and George came to visit this past weekend. I was sick the first day they came, but I managed to enjoy a meal of food with them before I hit the sack for the day. They did lots of sight seeing, and met up with the lovely Jordana. Tara and Jordana hadn’t seen each other for eight years, and they hadn’t met each other’s husbands, so it was very cool. On Saturday we walked ALL OVER. We went to SoHo, the Village, Chelsea, Mid Town, and Chinatown. We went to Chelsea Piers and hit golf balls, and then went to the batting cages. Tara and I still have excellent batting skills, I’m happy to report. Then we had a nice dinner with Jordana and Roland where we took a bazillion pictures! Later that night we went to a Halloween party at my friend’s loft in Chinatown. I went as White Trash Britney, George went as a USC Fan, and Tara went as a Red Sox fan. I had to make up costumes for them and I was limited, okay?! We had a blast. I was sorry to see them go.
• But, now Mike is here! He will be here for a little more than a week and we are enjoying every second of it! Since we won’t see each other after this visit until New Year’s, we are celebrating some December events. The last two days we have celebrated Mike’s birthday, which is actually December 9th. I gave him an X-Box, something he’s always wanted, and a baseball video game. He’s pretty obsessed with it, so I think he likes it! This weekend we are celebrating our anniversary. Two years! Time flies.