I must admit that Apple�s repair service is astonishingly speedy. My sick computer was picked up from my home on Tuesday afternoon and was back in my hot little hands, completely cured, by 10:00 Thursday morning. The one drawback is that it appears they want to pay for it, despite the exorbitant charge I pay for their repair program. They have not, however, yet told me why the repair is not covered, so I�m hoping it is an error, as I was assured when I had the problem diagnosed locally that it was a standard problem with this particular machine.

I am attempting to rein in my usual assumption that corporations are always trying to screw me, and am trying to be very Zen about the whole thing. I�m trying to replace extreme irritation with deep breathing. My attempts have been made somewhat more successful by the fact that I�m hopped up on cold medicine.

Yesterday I was feeling exceptionally energetic. I taught a brutal water aerobics class in the morning, jogged home in the 90+-degree heat with a backpack on and cleaned house like a madwoman. I even made a second trip to the pool with AJ in the afternoon. But about a half an hour after returning home, I suddenly felt not so great. By bedtime, I could tell a full-blown cold was coming on, so I downed some Nyquil and went to sleep early. Unfortunately even Nyquil was no match for this particular cold and I kept waking up gasping for air.

There is something especially sickly about the summer cold. It seems like exceptional weakness to be ill when the weather is warm and vigorous. We finally got a little rain last night, although not nearly enough to revive the bleached grass and the drooping lilac bushes, and the weather is beginning to cool down and dry out. It is, in short, perfect weather to be puttering around the garden. But instead I am lying in bed with an enormous glass of juice and some cold toast feeling very crotchety.

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