2005-02-20 - 2:35 p.m.

....beyond the help of echinacea....

I was supposed to go with Lia across the 59th Street Bridge, and then to MoMA, Whitney, or the Frick (and of course once more into Central Park). But my cold has gotten worse rather than better. I walked with Julia to the subway station and we shared a bagel for breakfast. But already I could feel myself tiring out. I broke down and even took a cab home, so that I could climb immediately back into bed with a pot of ginkho lemon tea and a bowl of Irish oatmeal (oatmeal is such comfort food).

I'm feeling that stretched out panic - I need to sleep. I need to write a lecture. I need to grade essays. I want to go sightseeing. So I am sitting in bed with my laptop and trying to work on the lecture, while listening to soft jazz. I'm hoping to make up another 25 slides in the next 2 hours....then a well-deserved nap.