Rainy November Day Observations From a Flu Symptom Sufferer

For a few weeks, I was looking forward to the possibility of attending either of two events in Manhattan tonight. The first was this huge happy hour at Fashion 40 courtesy of a Facebook friend and the other was a screening of the film Indelible with a reception to follow to benefit the Innocence Project. I could use a cocktail and the latter event would have been a great way to network and support a worthy cause.

Unfortunately, it was raining on this Thursday in November. I received a general message on Facebook urging prospective attendees of the happy hour not to let the rain scare us. (The rain stopped later on, but it was still windy.) But I've been couped up in my apartment since Tuesday because I was suffering from flu symptoms. Doc said it wouldn't be a great idea for me to brave the subway crowds with my resistance as low as it is.

This really ticks me off considering my mother, a physician, gave me the standard flu shot back in September. Rats! So much for immunity! My health has placed a damper on my social life.

I was also looking forward to going to Macy's for the Veterans' Day Sale, but I was too sick to step out of my house yesterday. Another unused coupon clipping from Newsday to throw away. So today I checked out the emailed ads for Midnight Madness sales from Smartbargains.com and am in the process of buying Christmas decorations for my dining and living rooms - a Santa centerpiece and a tree skirt - from the safety of my home PC.

Speaking of shopping I turned on News 12 Long Island during my sick time and saw a commercial for WalMart. It featured Christmas music as the camera scanned the aisles at an unidentified WalMart store. The background female voice then said that the retail giant was adding checkouts and extending their hours for the holidays - and I paraphrase - to serve customers better. Don't you love the way people and businesses for that matter sugar coat the underlying reason for their proactive measures?

Newsday's headline more accurately outlines the retailer's motives. "LI Black Friday Death Spurs 24-hour Walmarts." No shit! Last year on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, an overeager crowd at the WalMart at Green Acres Mall in Valley Stream, NY pushed through the doors and stampeded over people to get into the store for the proverbial holiday bargains. As a result of the chaos, a woman who was eight months pregnant was injured, and 34-year-old Jdimytai Damour, a temporary bodyguard hired by Walmart for the holidays was killed.

Damour stood 6 foot 5 inches tall and weighed 270 pounds. This explains why they planted him at the entrance. They didn't account for the force with which a large, fast crowd could take down a quarterback.  Somebody died. They are taking preventive measures after last year's tragedy, which is great, but what I don't like is that in light of a death last year at one of their stores they are marketing it as though it's to make shopping at WalMart more convenient for me so it will be my first and more frequent stop this holiday season.

Unwilling to listen to the repeat round of local news, I switched the TV off and glanced at a basket of books in my living room. I had several cookbooks in the woven container - one for simple, fast dishes (a must for the single cook who lives alone) and my hardcover copy of "The Sopranos" cookbook with a photo of James Gandolfini from my last entry. 

I also had my father's copy of Jane Eyre. My dog Fiona, a German shorthair pointer mix I adopted from North Shore Animal League, chewed it up so it's now unreadable. I keep it for sentimental reasons as my father, a wonderful man who gave my cousins gifts on his birthday to show it was "better to give than to receive," is now unfortunately deceased.

I've been forced to take the basket of books to my bedroom so Fiona won't chew them. The invisible fence that once kept her contained outside the living room is broken, so she's pretty much gotten the run of the house. After three days of having Mommy at home to pamper her, Fiona will be furious when I go back to work. I expect her to wreak havoc. I don't want her on the sofa, but she helps herself until I return and order her off.

I'm feeling better now. It's back to the grind as early as tomorrow morning. Here's me being proactive. The doc put me on TamiFlu, a swine flu prevention pill.

I can't wait to go back to work. I've been going stir crazy here. It's depressing because it's also been rainy and I can hear the droplets trickle on the window sill. News12 also reported that dark chocolate relieves stress. Consequently, it would ameliorate symptoms of depression. My personal favorite is dark chocolate almond bark.

In the movie The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, Rebecca DeMornay's character Peyton makes a comment that they say "chocolate is a substitute for sex." I wish they didn't give that line to a homicidal maniac of a player in the film. It's so true. Like dark chocolate, sex is also a stress reliever. The two go hand in hand. And they can compete for my affection. Who needs a guy who will create drama for you when you can savor the flavor of cocoa?

Goodbye, Sertraline! Hello, Godiva! They should offer Black Friday deals.  Sell more dark chocolate. It's good for you. I'm going to website right now to order some. No, I think I'm going to head over to the mall and pick some up this weekend. Shipping costs are a bitch for just a little chocolate.