i woke up in the middle of the night soaked in sweat. i was dreaming about photographing tight and crowded chinese spaces. while some may consider that a nightmare, in my dream i was really enjoying myself. once again i was waking up intermittently, each time thinking i'd been sleeping for a long time, each time realizing it'd only been an hour or two at most.

i switched my cold medication, now i'm on mucinex-d. i've tried many different cold medicine in my days, and mucinex-d works the best for me. i could feel the effects soon afterwards, like somebody carving a large hole in the middle of my face to the air in. i was still blowing my nose on occasions, but not as frequently as yesterday, and now in satsifying clumps of mucus. later my cough mostly disappeared as well.

i wore my turtleneck today, the first time i've ever come to work not dressed up in a shirt. even though it kept me warm, the material was thin enough that many came up to me asking if i was cold. as for pants, i wore my newly tailored pair. they're a bit snug but the fabric has some stretch to it. that reminds me: back at the uniqlo store in chongqing, they're selling jeggings for men (RMB$200). is it crazy that i might consider buying a pair if they're ever on sale? they're not as tight as women's jeggings, more like a slim pair of pants made with a stretchy fabric that looks like denim.

at 9:30 i had another claims meeting which lasted until noontime. it made the day go by that much faster. my symptoms were well under control, i only left the meeting once to go use the bathroom, fill up my tea tumbler and blow my nose.

after lunch i called loren to wish him a happy 40th birthday. i kind of expected him to call me yesterday but he didn't. even now, he seemed to have forgotten that we have nearly the same birthdate. i told him i might come to shanghai next weekend.

i ran into xianglian, who was walking the perimeter of the office grounds. i joined her for one final loop. we bumped into zengfei and yangling, who both waved hi. "it's you again," zengfei said. "what i coincidence!" i answered back. "we were talking to you, we were talking to the pretty girl!" she said.

it's an easy week for me since i took monday off, just a 5 day work week. it's only made more complicated by the fact that i'm also spending this week fighting a cold.

after i got back into town, i went to the supermarket to pick up a few things (ricola, soap) before coming home and taking a hot shower. i was so congested that i couldn't even smell the soap when i had my nose pressed up against it. i made some rice porridge for dinner.