we were teased this weekend, in a big way. sunday saw temperatures in the 60's. today was bitterly cold. tomorrow's 'wake-up weather' calls for 19 degrees at 7 a.m., and a high of 34. sigh.

i mentioned my sore throat of last week, and it's getting worse. i was struggling to the point this morning that i actually left work at 10:28, and planned to stay that way for the day. however, i had a pre-scheduled afternoon appointment with an elderly woman and, when i called to cancel, she was positively angry. so i agreed to go over there.

she's been following the team since she was a child and, as a 13-year-old (or 15-year-old, she and her husband couldn't quite figure it out), she went to the first ever game played at our ballpark in 1931. she has the team photo - signed by every player - from that season. and from 1932. and from 1933. and from 1934 ('those were tough times,' she said, pointing out that the photo was on cheaper and smaller paper than the earlier ones.) she worked for the ballclub for a three-year stint beginning in 1963, and she and her husband would have players over every saturday afternoon before night games. they're incredible pictures...1960's young men in their ties enjoying a steak on the house. she's also been keeping scrapbooks since 1960, and has what she believes to be every newspaper article written about the team (save a four-year gap, when she had more important things to do) since.

i'm going to do an article on her for our program and, in four years, this was the first time i've ever actually met her. (she's confined to a wheelchair, and the old ballpark wasn't particularly accessible. she made it to many games this past summer, and has season tickets for the first time this year.) i'm planning to stop by and return some stuff and probably spend some more time there later this month. it's really a neat time.

the home remedies i've tried today:
1) lots and lots of chicken broth. i've only recently started buying bullion cubes. a tasty, if ineffective, remedy.

2) lots and lots of tea. raspberry tea. green tea. pungent black ginger tea. lemon zinger tea. i've been avoiding sugar lately, and this includes honey, and i think it's considerably less effective without honey. if we don't shake it by the end of the week, we'll start using honey again.

3) close the bathroom door. turn on the shower to its highest temperature. head into bathroom ten minutes later. exist in the steam for about 25 minutes. net result: my voice was back...for a solid ten minutes. but, after wiping off the sweat, i did feel pretty neat. cleared pores, y'know?

4) don't freakin' talk. i tried to do this, cancelling a pre-scheduled (garsh i'm a dork) call with didi. sadly, i find myself talking, only to myself.

up next: jack daniels. lots and lots of jack daniels.

and, of course, the obvious solution is to sleep a bit more. but i'm incapable of that, i'll try to do it tonight, hoping to turn off the lights by midnight (about 1:30 is the usual...i won't accomplish my goal, i'm fairly sure.)

i don't really spend much time following the nfl draft, but my stolen espn insider account gives me the inclination to do so. not having studied these guys, i'd think that nfl scouts would have durability concerns about the two auburn backs who split time for three straight years. or, perhaps, they consider them 'fresh.' if mel's right, the bears will go for cedric benson, which is what i'd prefer. (although a part of me would prefer mike williams, because i think he's outstanding. i don't feel this way about muhammed, although i hope i'm proven wrong.) erasmus james' stock has fallen because of a subpar 40 time. have you ever seen a d-end run 40-yards in a straight line in a game? me neither.

becoming nerdier by the hour, rud