NYU has been renovating a building on Washington Square North for quite some time now.  It has been a fairly major overhaul, including inserting windows into concrete walls where there previously were none.  Why do I know this?  Because the construction wakes me up.  All the time.  I can't really complain, because it's around the time I should be getting up anyway (except for Saturdays — why are they working on Saturdays?!?).  That said, they leave all the lights on in the building every single night and the light shines right through the brand new windows directly into mine, which is rather irritating.  I walked over this morning to see if there was actually some sort of practical reason that they left the lights on — as far as I'm concerned, by shutting them off, they're probably saving NYU money and improving their relationship with their neighbors, namely me.  The dude I spoke to said he'd pass along my message to the right person. We shall see — hoping for a no-lights-in-my-window kind of night tonight.

*Name that tune, anyone?

I was supposed to go to a hockey game last night.  Since I woke up yesterday morning with a low grade fever (which I've had on and off since Sunday), I decided not to go so that I could lay low and get better.  This has been a hell of a cold — started with a tickle in my throat which led to an annoying cough, the aforementioned fever, and then the congestion started yesterday.  I took a sick day on Monday and half the day Tuesday, but once I went to the office on Tuesday (after sleeping for 13 1/2 hours), I made the mistake of behaving like I was fine, even going out on Tuesday night.  I had a headache for most of the day Wednesday, but just attributed it to being part of the cold.  But this headache had a life of its own.  By about 3 pm it had proved itself to be completely resistant to Advil, and was bothering me so much that I went home to rest before my 5pm conference call.  By the time of the call, I was lying on my couch with my eyes covered, pressing into my temple to try to get some relief.  It felt like the entire left side of my head was stuck in a vise.  When the call was over, I started to worry — I had never had a headache this painful, or limited to one side of my head.  I took some more Advil, worried some more, and called my doctor.  She asked me a few questions, then suggested I head to the emergency room.  Now, I'm sure she was being cautious, and had I called during office hours, she likely would have had me come in to her office, but off I went to St. Vincent's.  Long story short, I waited around in the "Fast Track" waiting room with my eyes covered to block out the light, my head still caught in that vise, and ultimately was seen and examined.  The doctor declared happily that I didn't have meningitis (huh — hadn't thought of that one) gave me some super high-dose Tylenol, and left me to rest in the dark until it kicked in.  Which it ultimately did, thankfully.  I was free to go. 

Certainly not the best way to spend an evening, but at least the headache went away.  Today, I'm off to Philly with my Puffs Plus in tow.  And some extra Tylenol — just in case.

A very close friend of the family passed away this week.  She was a model of patience, calm, and generosity, and infused our family with her warmth, quiet wisdom, and subdued humor during the 25 plus years she was a part of our lives.  When I went up to Maine this past September, Jennie was visiting us as she did each year since she retired.  I feel so lucky and fortunate that I was able to spend time with her and, in effect, say goodbye and let her know how much we all love her.  I was given the same opportunity when my Grandma Mae passed away several years ago.  Having not had that opportunity in the past when others I loved passed away, I am eternally grateful for it. 

We will miss you Jennie.  Thank you for being part of our family.