See, after Birthday Week, I got this cough. Didn�t feel sick at all, really. Just a steady tickle in my throat that would cause me to cough like I was hacking up several non-vital organs.

I decided to do what I always do when I�m feeling shitty � ignore it. Do what I do anyway, and it�ll go away. I was NOT going to give that cough the satisfaction of any attention, through medication or rest or whatever. That would just teach it that acting up equals preferred treatment, and you�ll never train a cough to go away by rewarding it with soup.

Sudden, violent, wheezing coughing fits make live radio EXTRA-fun, by the way.

Only, despite my patiently ignoring it, the cough still didn�t go away. I hacked all weekend, and on Sunday night, I relented and swore off all the vices � no alcohol or smokes, period.

Monday, I relented and quit working out � no running or Tae Kwon Do. (Not that it mattered � I couldn�t draw in a full breath without choking, anyway.)

Tuesday, I began feeding the cough soup and medication.

Yesterday, I went and bought the big guns � ALL NEW! Nyquil Cough Syrup. The sniffling, sneezing, kicks-your-cough-in-the-nuts-then-drops-you-into-a-coma-faster-than-you-can-put-the-bottle-back-in-the-cupboard medicine.

I went to bed in a drugged up stupor, happy because I didn�t even feel a little like I wanted to start a coughing fit, and secure that the potent Nyquil would conk me out through the night.

Until about 3 a.m.

I woke up coughing, and couldn�t stop. I crawled out of bed and staggered into the kitchen, hacking the whole time while trying to figure out what to do. Couldn�t take the Nyquil again, or I�d never make it to work in the morning. I blindly dug out the daytime stuff, and chugged some of that. Was finally able to go back to bed after a few more minor coughing fits.

This SUCKS. Sucks, sucks, sucks.

I�ll continue to remain vice-free, even through the (GASP!) weekend. Thank heavens for my DVD player.

But if I�m not better by Monday, I guess I�ll relent and call a doctor.

Damn it.