Is that a wad of tissue in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?

There's a crisp, cool edge to the air today, and a major blockage in my nose - two surefire signs that autumn has officially arrived.

I've got a cold. (sniff, snort)

Without fail, when the air temperature drops, my immune system follows suit. Combine this trend with stress factors such as a recent move to a new job, new surroundings, new schedule - it just all blocks my nasal passages right up. I am not someone who generally shows stress - meaning, the emotional signs of stress don't (generally) show on me the way they do in some people. Stress manifests itself physically with me.

Case in point: As I shared in my first Snake Nation blog entry, I am a classically trained singer and did a lot of performing in college and grad school. In undergrad I was generally fine, but by the time I got to grad school, the stress of an upcoming performance would manifest itself uniquely through my disgestive track. Mentally I was calm, cool and collected - but below the belt was quite another story. By the end of my two years of grad school, my pre-performance routine always included an embarassing trip to the bathroom. This was one of my first clues that the performer's life might not be for me.

Fortunately today I pretty much just get colds. But there is still a pretty significant embarassment level. When I get a cold, it's severe. Over the counter cold symptom treatments, like DayQuil - they do nothing for me. My colds are hearty and robust - and they won't be supressed until they've realized their full potential. A lot of sneezing goes on with my colds - and I have a big, borderline obnoxious sneeze. Days with a cold, for me, are spent snorting and blowing my nose - constantly - and sneezing - constantly. This morning I sat in a meeting with 4 other people around a boardroom table sneezing and snorting, and I know I was grossing them out; I was grossing myself out. And what do you say, "Sorry I'm gross and can't control all this stuff going on in my nose"...? There's nothing to say.

I have a wedding to go to tomorrow night, and needless to say I'm very concerned about making a sneezing scene in the middle of it. But, it is a wedding - so for once, the wad of tissue in my hand won't look so conspicuous.