#2856 three things: a summer cold, Foo Fighters, and a little break

1. A summer cold. It seems like every summer, I catch a cold. It is usually minor and I get over fairly quickly. This year, the cold began on Sunday in the form of a sore throat when I woke up that morning. I drank orange juice and let myself rest that afternoon. On Monday, the sore throat was still there, and the sneezing started. That night I volunteered at a concert at the Garden. (Amos Lee. He was really good.) I was doing recycling, so I left the venue around 10:45 and got home around 11:15. I took some cold medicine and got to bed by midnight. I overslept the next morning by a little bit, probably because I still had the cold meds working and I didn't have enough sleep. I popped some Dayquil and headed to work. The sore throat wasn't as bad, but my head was stuffed up, and my left ear was popping all day. That night, I went to see the Foo Fighters in concert - more on that coming up next. On Wednesday I was totally spent. I was fortunate to work from home that day, so I made it through with a nap at lunchtime. Last night, which was Wednesday, I got to bed by 8:30, fully loaded with Nyquil (two capsules) and slept in the guest room very soundly, with occasional wake-ups to cough, blow my nose, or use the bathroom. This morning, I made the decision to stay home from work. Thursday is all-staff-in-the-office day, so you either go in or take a sick day or a vacation day. I took the sick day. I glugged a bunch of orange juice, loaded up on cold meds and took it easy. I wrote and drew and read and napped. I feel so much better tonight. I can breathe through my nose 90 percent of the time, I haven't coughed, and my ears aren't popping. I also feel alert and functional. I even cooked dinner. I needed that rest.

2. The Foo Fighters. MT and I really like the Foo Fighters. We had tickets to see them play last year, but sadly, their drummer, Taylor Hawkins, died. The tour was understandably cancelled. We were so excited when they announced this year's tour, and I was happy to get tickets. The show was at USANA Amphitheater, my least favorite venue in the city. The venue is nice and the parking is fine, but the entry and exit from the parking is the absolute worst. We were in line for 20 to 30 minutes to park, then sitting in the parking lot for another 30 minutes or so to exit the parking lot. I took a snoozle after the show in the truck. Another thing that sucks about USANA is the price of the beers. We had four beers, two each, and it cost over $80. Simple math: $20 per beer. WTH?

Enough about that...let's talk about the band. They were very good, and the show was lots of fun. The thing that sticks in my memory is how many men were there, like pairs and groups of men. I was sitting next to a couple of dudes, and they were sitting next to a couple of dudes. There was a group of four young dudes behind us, and a pair of dudes in front of us. The coolest thing is that all of these dudes were singing their hearts out, top of their lungs to every song. The dude three dudes down from me seemed to be having some kind of religious experience. He was a big guy with a big black beard and his hands were clasped or waving around in the air as he bellowed out all the words. It was awesome! 

See the guy with with big black beard and the black cap?!

The band played for two and half hours or so, no breaks, just all the music. Dave Grohl screams and shreds that guitar and he is a freaking legend. The new drummer is really good, and the rest of the band is tight and talented. It is just hard to take your eyes off Dave. His energy is amazing.

3. A little break. Tomorrow I get to go to southern California to visit Mama and Lizzie. I saw Lizzie last month, of course, but I haven't seem Mama since May. I am looking forward to this quick weekend trip. I've had so much going on in July and I had to suck it up and be a grown up and it was hard. I want to sit on my mom's couch and read and lounge and relax. I hope that's not too much to ask :)

Take care of yourselves! Rock on!!