This week didn’t go as planned.  Started by me feeling off on Monday, but thinking it was just a little cold.  By the evening, I was in bad shape and ended up having to take two days off to recover.  Got tested for everything, so it was just a cold.  A really nasty one that led me to learn two things:

1. There 160 different viruses that fall under ‘common cold’.  They are similar enough to create the same kinds of symptoms, but not enough for gaining immunity of one to work against the others.  This is why a cure or vaccine can’t be made because you would have to make one for each rhinovirus.
2. Apparently, there are studies that show estrogen might give extra protection against viruses like the flu and cold.  This is why women can shrug these off enough to keep working and men can get laid out.  So, the ‘man-flu’ could be due to nature deciding women are more important to protect from diseases than men.  Makes sense from a survival of the species standpoint since you need more women than men to keep the population going.

Anyway, that curb-stomped my Pokemon Go outings for a bit, especially since it’s cold and about to get worse.  Next week is frigid with even negative temps Tuesday morning.  We’re getting snow tomorrow too, so driving will be a pain.  This annoys me a lot because I learned last year that fresh air helped me recover from disease quicker.  I can’t do that unless I drive to the mall and that’s not exactly fresh with all of the people there.  I’d have to wake up early to get there before the stores up and only mall walkers are around.  I don’t think that will help me much.

I was hoping to get some editing time since my son had late nights at school due to his All County Chorus concert, which was last night.  So, I was happy for the moments of clear-headedness and energy.  I managed to get through 2 chapters between naps.  That leaves me with 5 to go and the icy weather this weekend gives me a great chance at finishing Darwin & the Demon Game.  I’ll have to print more of Darwin & the Beast Collector before work on Tuesday, but that shouldn’t be an issue.  I have a meeting on Tuesday anyway, so I could push it until Wednesday.

To be fair, I don’t know how my chances are this weekend.  The snowstorm tomorrow afternoon gives me time.  I have to run errands this morning and will try to get at least one chapter done.  With the bad weather tomorrow, I want to get the Pokemon Go event stuff done today, but it isn’t much.  I could even do it while grocery shopping and getting money for next week.  Monday is going to be a mess, but I have a morning appointment.  I might just leave early to do mall walking and then hop over to the appointment spot, which is nearby.  That gives me the afternoon.  Need to make time for watching the new season of ‘Castlevania: Nocturne’ too.  Really have far too much to do even though most of it gets seen as useless hobbies or drivel.

Honestly, the Pokemon Go, puzzles, Lego, and finishing TV shows seem to be filling a void that used to be where writing ruled supreme.  That’s the garnering of victories and senses of accomplishment.  Since I barely have the time and focus to write or edit, I’ve been doing these things.  I keep telling myself that I can jump back into real writing instead of editing once certain situations change.  Could be years for that, but I do know that I’ll get more free time at that point.  Maybe I shouldn’t expect to finish writing 2-3 books a year and be happy with one until more free time appears.  It’s possible for me to finish all of the editing by the summer, which means I can start writing Darwin & the Joy Path after school is over.  Fingers crossed, but that’s a long shot where I know for certainty I can accomplish things on the initial list of non-writing hobbies.

Next week is mid-term week for me and my son, but I only get him for a little bit of time on Tuesday before the weekend.  It’s all up to his mom this year.  I will have my hands full with field trips with our students and figuring out what to do with the two hours afterwards.  I considered bringing my laptop and type in some edits, but I might want to save that for when I get home.  This is why I want to print out some chapters of the next book and tackle that.  It will all depend on how busy things are and if I can find any quiet space.  It could make more sense for me to simply socialize and dig into the books when I get home.  Going over my schedule really drives home the fact that there are only so many hours in the day.  Less when it’s friggin’ winter.  December through February has always been my least productive period, so I probably shouldn’t keep beating myself up over the whole thing.

Goals of the week:

1. Finish typing in edits of Darwin & the Demon Game.
2. Start editing Darwin & the Beast Collector.
3. Watch ‘Castlevania: Nocturne’.
4. Enjoy the one afternoon/evening I get with my son before next weekend.
5. Stay warm.
6. Play some Pokemon Go to stay active.
7. Find healthier food options while on field trips or get stuff later.
8. Laundry today because I bought compression undershirts that are supposed to help retain heat.
9. Finish the March blog posts.