Been down with flu since the night of the 23rd of December. I suspect it's the National Library at Victoria Street that caused this. I was there for a few hours in the afternoon. The ventilation is tremendously bad. The moment you lift your foot to step through the sliding doors into the basement library area, the smell of stale unbathed human bodies assaults the senses. You know those vile beings that come out by the hoards during morning peak hour, all of whom have not showered and still stink of sleep and vile tiredness? Yah, that smell. Like toxins oozing out of their pores.

I've been to musty bookstores and libraries but usually it's the smell of well-thumbed old books that permeates the air, not the stench of unhygienic beings. It's not so bad on weekdays but I once walked out instantly on a weekend afternoon. That's when the actual unbathed bodies are packed like sardines into the library and sharing the space with the stale unbathed ghosts of their past visits.

So anyway. I spent many days blowing my nose and hacking away to expel copious amounts of snot and phlegm. Sounds gross, I know. But honestly, there is a great sense of momentary satisfaction every time I blow my nose and feel it clear with a rapid whoosh.

Alright, alright...

In any case, am finally left with only a trickle of a cough and sniffing. While it's actually kind of fun to be whoozy from cold and cough meds, it's rather nice to be clear-headed once again too.