Caught in the Cold

Ailments are many, but none trouble you as much as the simplest of all, yet the one with the potential to cause the maximum disruption in your routine – cold. There were many things happening around me last week, which I felt I should write about, but my incessant cold has beset me to such an extent that it demands the priority.

I have had two kinds of problems with this intriguing common cold virus. First of them is the sneezing fit, which I attribute more to my hyper-allergic nature than the virus itself. Staying in an environment which Mumbai offers only makes things worse. Second is of course, the issue of a blocked nose. You feel choked, heavy under and above the eyes, and are often left gaping for reasons not worth it. Worst of all, there are no medicines which guarantee a cure for cold, except time. As the adage goes, “If you take medicine, your cold will cure in a week, if you don’t it will take 7 days.”

Now I have no intentions to explain what Wikipedia can about common cold. The whole point is trying to interpret how and why is it as big a problem.

Imagine that you have planned a date with the girl who you have had a silent crush on since eons. Finally the much-awaited day arrives, but the only glitch is you have a blocked nose. Yes, it will be very romantic, interrupting the conversation by blowing away the trumpet that your nose has become every 3-4 minutes. If you want to avoid the ignominy of the situation, the option might be not to talk at all, but then rather not go on a date if it has to be a silent one. They say eyes can talk, but hello, people are looking for more these days.

Another nightmare situation is a job interview in 15 minutes and a sneezing fit which refuses to stop. “Where do you see yourself five years down the line? Achhooo…What are you looking forward to the most in this job? Achhooo… Do you want us to reschedule the interview to a later time? Achooo… It was a pleasure meeting you. We hope we can strike a conversation by the end of the day.” You have literally blown away your chances of getting a job.

Even a thing like writing an exam paper becomes very tedious if your cold has taken dominance over you. Every time you sneeze or blow your nose, it seems that all the blood supply to your brain is momentarily cut off and you again start off blank, trying to assimilate your thoughts.

I can go on and on about what a common cold can do to you. Murphy’s Law says that if things have to go wrong, they will. However, there can also be a corollary to this- If things have to go right, they surely will. So the next time, try and time the period where you catch a cold. The eventualities might not be so dire, perhaps! Atra du evarinya ono varda. (That's Elvish, whatever Paolini has taught me)