Happy Earth Day

Today is Earth Day, April 22, 2009.  I spent most of the day working on a volunteer project with Wildlands Restoration Volunteers, along with 6 of my Polycom coworkers.  You see, we get one day off per year to do a volunteer project, and the 7 of us chose this one.  We planted lots of willows and other shrubs and grasses in a little creek that runs through Boulder County Open Space, just north of Broomfield.  And, as usual, they fed us well.  But also, as usual, I’m tired out from the work – even more than usual because I caught a cold a few days ago.

For the first day or two, I just thought I was having really bad allergies, and in fact Perry told me that the tree allergen count yesterday was 11.5 out of a possible 12.  But given the other symptoms I’m now having – and the fact that taking antihistimines didn’t really help – I’m pretty convinced I’ve got a cold.

So I’m doing the usual things people do when they have a cold, such as eating hot soup, taking Nyquil, and so on.  But I’m also doing something most folks don’t, and that’s sinus irrigation twice a day.  I’ve been trying to do this once a day to keep my nose more cleared up, but now I’m doubling that.  Supposedly, since the rhinovirus germs live in your sinus membranes, fully cleaning them out often makes colds go away quicker.  In the past, I’ve used a neti pot for this, but I got a trial of the NeilMed Sinus Rinse from my sleep doctor that I’ve been trying.  It looks like this:

But enough about my snot.  In other news, I got some cool stuff in the mail lately.

First, from Netflix I got the DVD of “Heroic Trio” which I plan to watch for inspiration as a female action buddy flick, and also probably rip some of the fight scenes to show people what I want the stunts in “Kung Fu Sushi Chefs” to look like.  Plus, my DVD of “Cheerleader Ninjas” arrived today.  I had to buy that one, instead of rent it.  Perhaps the 1.6 stars out of 10 rating it gets on IMDB helps explain why rental companies don’t carry it.  I saw “Cheerleader Ninjas” in the theater, but wanted to get a copy on DVD also so I could rip some of the fight scenes, so I can show people what I don’t want the stunts in my film to look like.

Plus, I got 2 CDs in the mail.  They are Journey’s “Departure” and Psychedlic Furs’ “Talk Talk Talk”.  Representative music from eras gone by!  🙂

Finally, a friend sent me a garden gnome for my birthday.  At least I think it was from him.  I had lunch with him Sunday and he asked if I got my birthday gift yet.  I didn’t know what he was talking about.  And the garden gnome doesn’t say who it’s from.  So I’m assuming 2+2=4.  Thanks, Chad!