Cold and flu season is upon us so get ready. How can one person make so much snot? The riddle is explored over noodle soup and a battle of the sexes. Also observations from Walgreen's and the diorama store.
The wind is howling and so the rainy season has begun. In Leftcoastloveland we have two seasons; green and brown. When the sun is out the hills are brown and then from November to April they turn green. It doesn't snow here but if you are from a place with snow (like me) you can't understand why the first day of rain brings traffic havoc. And it does rain, we pack all the rain for the entire year into this short window. This is why the news from California is fires then mudslides, our disasters follow the seasons. It's too bad we can't just wait for the rain to put out the fires or save some of the heat to dry out some of the soaked hills come January. When I lived in NY I would razz Jimmy the Jag about the end of the world. It seemed to be warming up out left. Earthquakes, riots, and fires oh my! I am now a full resident and these things are just part of the price of living out here.
The first real day of rain has provided me a comedy of traffic mishaps to view this morning and evening. We drive fast out here. Real fast but people forget that their tires don't stick the same at 90 in the pouring rain as on a dry sunny day. Plus for a bonus the first rain also leeches up oil and rubber that has been baked onto the road surface during the summer. Weeeeee! I've lived here for almost seven years and it happens every first rain. No one can remember until the next day when they print the same article about tires, rain, and leeched oil. Why don't they print it when the first rain is forecast? Besides the freeway comedies and shifting hills this weather also hits people. Sniffles, coughs, fever, runny noses, the list goes on and on.
I am feeling fine but I was exposed to mutant strain of something last night. I went to have dinner with Alexis and check on her head injury. The perils of retail had her checking her melon out at local hospital recently. All was fine but she also had managed to pick up a cold that had turned very scary. She sounds like a drunk Bruce Willis on the phone and her sentences are interrupted by the sound of nose against Kleenex. A big bowl of noodle soup in the Fillmore was the only thing she had energy for. I was laughing when she placed an entire box of tissue into her oversized bag. This detail would prove to be important later.
The noodle bar is right down the street and we grabbed a great corner booth in the front window. I started jabbering about the Leftcoastlove Movie and I even had a sheet of paper on which we brainstormed a timeline. Then it began. Alexis removed the first of over 125 tissues that would she would use during our dinner. She was cute trying to be inconspicuous and she placed each used tissue back into her bag. When our food arrived I felt bad for her little nose, it was turning red. We ate and ate and ate. The bowls are huge and the food never seemed to end. After a while I didn't even notice her nose breaks. Until it was time to order dessert.
She opened her bag and I saw that it was full of the used Kleenex. Yikes! There was enough DNA in there to make a clone. She is so small so I couldn't figure out how she could produce 3 times her body weight in mucus. This led to a discussion of the pros and cons of Vapor Rub. We then went to Walgreen's in search of the rub and we had also decided to buy a board game. You can buy just about anything at a Walgreen's. It may not be the exact type or brand but I swear they have one of everything. Alexis and I discovered that technology had now caught up to Vapor Rub. There are vapor strips, fruit scented varieties, greaseless, and odorless(?) rubs. Alexis chose greaseless and then we were off to find a game. Cranium or Battle of the Sexes, those were the choices. Like I said Walgreen's may not have the exact type you want but damn it there were board games. They were right next to the ant traps and taco shells. We chose Battle of the Sexes and headed back to her studio.
On the way back we stopped in front of the Brown Bag Stationary Store. This unassuming store does the best stuff with their windows. The staff creates little scenes with cards, candy, pens, keychain, etc. basically what ever they sell. The scenes are little art pieces and I always enjoy seeing the new displays when I visit. We studied each scene dissecting the choice of color and objects. My recent foray into the world of dioramas has me on the look out for inspiration. Once back at the apartment we settled in for the game. We used medical waste bags to dispose of the stash of used Kleenex. Cleared a space for the board and off we went. I scanned the rules quickly and we just figured how hard can it be? It was great fun back and forth answering male or female trivia until Alexis discovered that there was no end if we continued. What? Is this a joke?
Back to the rule sheet. Ah. Hmmmmm. We missed a few key points, like how to win. No harm so we started again. It really is a cute game and I don't even remember who won. So much much better than tv and hopefully it helped cheer up the stricken one. The seasons are changing again so be sure to check on your buddy. Buddy check! Hands up, count off! Thanks for listening and I'm off to make a clone. Oh, no! Did I type that out loud?
Sean