There's Nothing Worse Than A Bad Dream

(unless it's waking up to a worse reality)

So the AFC Championship game was depressing.
Not because we lost. I'm fine with that. No rookie QB has ever even made it to the Super Bowl, and its easy to see why. The pressure is off-the-charts intense. Also, the Patriots played a great game. They mixed up their play-calling, were opportunistic on defense, and didn't make any mistakes. They are going to their third Super Bowl in four years for a reason.
But losing the way we did - Roethlisberger throwing an interception on his first pass, the 60-yard strike immediately following that quieted the crowd, and it was all downhill from there - we were never really in it. And that was the worst thing of all.
A close second was my sickness rampaging through my body as I taxed it to the limit. Sitting for four hours in sub-zero windchill was rough. Although you can't say I didn't come prepared. As I left for the game, I was wearing:

- 3 pairs of socks
- Boxers
- T-shirt tucked into boxers (heat conservation)
- Jeans
- T-shirt tucked into jeans
- Windbreaker pants over the jeans
- Sweater tucked into windbreaker pants
- Fall 'woobie' over sweater
- Winter coat over 'woobie'
- Pittsburgh Penguins winter hat
- Pair of winter gloves
- Winter scarf covering face
- Shoes

So that helped a lot. Nonetheless, I have no voice today. I know I was giving the virus every chance to get back on its feet and hang around a little longer because I went to the game. Thus, since then, I have been completely on the offensive. Rest, liquids, and medication. It's a shame, really, because I haven't seen or talked to practically anyone for three weeks. Martin and Luke left me a message the other night on my voicemail saying that they were eating at Eat N' Park, all of a 3 minute walk across the street. But even if I had gotten it on time, I couldn't have gone. I'm that wiped out.
The battle rages on.

At least I now have the Grand Champion score on my family's LOTR Pinball machine, topping the charts with 101 million. I had that thing rocking.
Since when did Saruman the Wise abandon reason for madness?!?