My cold symptoms are now weariness, chills and that achy feeling, but mostly bad congestion - I'm so nasal! I hate being a mouth-breather. It's causing a serious feeling of dehydration at night.

Finally took action on the bicycle - it's lain dormant for months. I bought a whole new wheel with a Weinmann rim yesterday, just like my original (brand, but not model <1>). Foolishly, I didn't give it a hard spin until I got home - the center's slightly off! It was the only one they had though, and no wonder it was on sale, eh? Idiot. Sure I could take it back, but they might make it worse, and it may be tolerable without even adjusting on my current bike, which is definitely a "beater" - my plan is to make it roadworthy again, since I just want something that rolls, and then look for a replacement - a whole new bicycle, something I haven't acquired in twenty years. This long holiday weekend's project will be to assemble a "new" rear wheel from the two old ones. Turns out my old rear rim was cracked, but its hub is fine and most of its spokes will be recycled. I'll use the old front rim, whose hub is seized up! Don't understand how I was able to ride it so recently. Although must of the front spokes are so old that the nipples won't twist, that rim should be fine. I like making wheels; although the SOP is to use new spokes there's no reason why old ones won't work for my less-than-precision needs, so I'm getting into the mindset of some Third-World bike mechanic and using what's available. Haven't actually made a wheel in many years but the skills needed are so ingrained and basic that recovering them is like... riding a bicycle!

End of the year already? My how time flies. Ten years ago I remember walking around a stormy gray Hermosa and Manhattan Beach this day, when I made the decision to join an athletic club. Feeling real slack now; haven't worked out since before I left, and this mild illness sapped my energy to run this morning. I'm considering a post-holiday renewal of the Zone diet - I heard a scientific doubter on the radio put it down, although with the grudging assessment that it was just a low-calorie diet which would in fact lead to fat reduction.

Will be getting "back to work" next week too. The software problem for which I've been seeking a fix, for months, was assigned a late January deadline yesterday - that'll force my ass into gear. <2> What I really need is some help, but people I'd have to ask aren't very helpful, so it's been easier to procrastinate, since they haven't been inquiring after the status of a solution.

Plans for tonight? Ha - none. I'll be in bed by ten, perhaps earlier because of this cold, and I may not even be roused by the local revelers' noise later, as they ring in the new year.