xela | Some days, the gods just like to mess with a guy

Overall a fantastic day: My old friend Bryt, who I hadn't seen in four or five years, had mentioned that she might come by. And when she did, she brought gifts of chocolate — and sweeter still, she brought my dear old friend and partner in Commedia, Jacqui — who I hadn't seen in person in over fifteen years! There were bad in-jokes, worse puns, sweet sentimentality — fun, love, joy and laughter all around. Plus, on my part, much sneezing and nose-blowing.

Hence the title of today's post: I'd started sneezing for no apparent reason around noon. Not too bad, but enough to make it hard to concentrate. Usually there's some obvious cause when this hits me: Some so-called "air freshener"; someone wearing too much scent; cigarette smoke (especially stale); lots of dust; hay-fever. But there was nothing I could smell, and I don't think there are a lot of plants pumping out allergens in -10°C weather.

But when Jacqui and Bryt showed up, I went into full sneezing-fit mode. Again, no obvious proximate cause.

It gradually let up, to the point that when Meg hdf xzubh

Meta, 2016-02-15 05:32: That's where I left off last night, final fumble-fingering, and all, at 20:48 according to the file's timestamp.

... that when Meg and Susan showed up bearing groceries, and I suggested we adjourn to the library,where there'd be room for everyone, we'd been there a good ten minutes before I found myself frantically looking for the box of kleenex I'd forgotten to bring.

Everyone had to leave far too soon. Ah well, thought I, searching as ever for the silver lining in every cloud as I rolled back to my room and saw the food carts emerging from the elevator, at least it's dinner time.

But alas, the kitchen had surpassed themselves, skipping past their usual disappointing to achieve downright inedibility, with a side of offputting. (I think it was perhaps supposed to be tuna salad, but didn't investigate all that closely.)

At about this point the sneezing started up in earnest again. While I was discovering, with the assistance of Google and a couple of fruitless phone calls, that pizza delivery is apparently unobtainable in Newton on a Sunday. So I took advantage of my freshly arrived backup snack supply and started writing this blog entry over a dinner of peanut-butter on graham crackers (thanks, Meg!) and chocolate truffles (thanks, Jacqui and Bryt!). Which turned out to be a lovely dinner, constant sneezing aside. I buzzed for the nurse and got a benadryl, shortly after which I found my fingers making up words all by themselves and decided it was time for blogus interruptus and bed.

Overall, a wonderful day. The good was amazing, the bad merely irritating, and the irony rich.