Not about the workplace, but for a month and a half I'd been looking forward to a friend's annual Musical New Year's Eve Party. I had my guitar and banjo all shined up in advance, and had also polished up the songs I expected to sing.

Bummer! About Christmas day, a cold! And not just any cold, but a rip-roarer, with a sore throat just to kick things off. My Beautiful Wife told me, "You can't sing with that cold; you'll hurt your vocal cords."

For five days I took Vitamin C and Vitamin D, Mucinex, a homeopathic nostrum called Roxalia, and for the throat, Chloraseptic spray. The throat soreness pretty much passed, but still plenty of phlegm, and coughing and sneezing.

By New Year's Eve I was a lot better, but still some coughing and sneezing. I regretfully decided that I'd be doing no-one a favor, nor making any friends, by going to the party. Oh, well. There's always next year.

Dave Oesterreich