A Dirty Dell

If only someone could vacuum me out and tighten my wires like the Indian guy just did to my Dell, maybe I would now be 100% recovered. My Dell is happily purring away once again, my hard drive is intact, and I am sicker than ever.

I have never had such a peculiar virus. I wondered if it was chronic fatigue syndrome or fibromyalgia before the cold-like symptoms kicked in. I have zero energy and my neck and head are terribly achy. I’m sneezy and sniffly and have ugly looking stuff in my throat. I am a real mess. Despite my sense of renewed energy yesterday, I am still dragging around.

I managed to haul the Dell out to the computer geek who agreed to look at it this morning. Meanwhile I parked myself in the Whole Foods café area with a cup of green tea and a book. Before I had finished the Cheerios I brought, I got a call from the computer guy saying my computer was fixed and ready to be picked up.

I ended up paying $55 for him to vacuum out my dusty Dell and tighten a cable. Then my old computer was as good as new. He pushed the power button and it hummed to life.

I wish I could rid myself of this malaise so easily. As I sit here sipping my Odwalla PomaGrand juice, I keep hoping the cold germs will give up on me and move on to someone else. But healing the human body is usually not so instantaneous. Instead it calls on patience, that quality I’m not well endowed with, as we wait out the sweating and sniffling and sneezing and throat-clearing that must accompany a return to good health.

Instead of sitting around feeling a little depressed, I should be rejoicing that I no longer have to take sick leave to stay home, that it’s a good thing this happened BEFORE my 40th reunion weekend, and that my computer has rebounded to full health. Maybe I’ll work today on learning gratitude and patience as I wait for my body to do the same. Maybe I’ll make a pot of chicken soup on the off chance that it might speed things along.