Near and Far

Now that one deadline's in the books, another's on its way fast approaching -- and without fanfare, whilst all this continues its crescendo towards March 15th, I manage to catch something akin to a stomach virus.

What this all means, of course, is that since Thursday, I've been double-fisting Immodium, rolls of toilet paper and any food that is bland, boring and inoffensive -- rice, bananas, saltines -- in the hope that I'll be able to actually consume some measure of food without worrying about having to schedule some post-consumption bathroom time. Thus far, that hasn't worked out too well -- better to skip food altogether and stick with sips of water, warm, de-bubbled ginger ale and hope for the best.

Yesterday -- he wrote proudly -- I managed to take the bus to the office without fear of reprisal from my lower regions. Then again, that's after having had two eggs that featured less flavor than a white man's choral group from Nebraska. Sure, it's a nasty hang -- but with work to do and nothing exciting to eat, it's a lot easier to just skip the food altogether and go with what works.

Now before anyone begins feeling pangs of sympathy, it's not quite all bad -- I've managed to reacquire a quasi-taste for bananas, and more importantly, I've noticed that a lot of stuff prepared on the Food Network during weekend shows isn't nearly as appetizing as it's seemed in the past. I figure that if the subconscious lack of appetite remains, I'll forever give up my secret urge to prepare Coq Au Vin and my uber-lust for a double-Viking range with a 500-degree grill in the middle.

And more importantly, I'll be able to hit the treadmill without any concern whatsoever that I'll need to interrupt my hour-long runs with a visit to the Loo.

Otherwise, a few movie recommendations:

Layer Cake, starring Daniel Craig -- entertaining, if a bit confusing (due to the English accent and the colloquialisms); sort of a more grown-up, more serious Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels;

Fracture, starring Anthony Hopkins (and Ryan Gosling) -- a darkly fun romp through a "We Know Who Did It, But How" set in the shine of SoCal. Solid, if a bit more playful than it probably should be;

Hot Fuzz -- stupid, funny, silly, entertaining, and a tad bizarre, this is what I believe is the second film from the group who did Sean Of The Dead. If that movie didn't do it for you (the gore, silly zombie movie cliched spoofs, etc.) then this probably won't either. However, overall, definitely worth a viewing if that movie got you laughing (and I can't fathom anyone not finding that movie somewhat hysterical). A bit long on the gag but nonetheless a worthwhile watch.

My next-up is the reincarnation of Beowulf; see what happens when you can't eat, can't do much sleeping and you've got a broadband connection and the feminine wiles as to how to best put it to good use?

Stay tuned, and stay healthy...

And for gawd's sake, stay out of the bathroom until I have windows installed...