An All You Can Contract Buffett of Illness

This past Christmas season I celebrated two unique new experiences. The first was that it was the first Christmas season in 14 years where I actually had time off at Christmas. Working in retail, you don't usually get Christmas off, but since McMaster University is shut down for the week between Christmas and New Years, the bookstore is closed. Woo Hoo. As Balki Bartokomous used to say on the old Perfect Strangers TV show: "Cousin, I stepped in something good this time."

Of course it didn't help that I got whooping cough a few days before Christmas shut-down. We ended up putting off our Christmas dinner celebration with family because Alexander and I were contagious. I did start feeling better on Boxing Day, but then the day after that, Francine got a really bad flu bug, and the day after, I got it. Man, but it was nasty. There's an old Robin Williams joke that goes something like: "Two exits! No waiting!" That's all the detail I'm going to go into. Our turkey, of course, is still sitting in the freezer downstairs uncooked. Maybe we'll celebrate Ukrainian Christmas instead.

Which leads to the second new experience. I actually lost over 10 pounds during the Christmas vacation. That's completely unheard of.

I'm so glad to be back at work so I can feel better.