It's been a while since I've brought it out, so here comes the dot column thingy...

• Last week I pretty much skipped working out because of a relatively minor cold. So this week I decided not to let that deter me on Monday and Tuesday. Then, undaunted, my sinuses decided to step it up a level. So for the rest of the week, I've been fighting the worst cold I've had in a while. I tend to get a lot of minor colds every winter, but this is the first big one I can remember in about 5 years. Lots of NyQuil and Vicks inhaler for me, and it hasn't let up yet.
  
• Is the celebrity spelling bee currently airing just Fox's way of saying they're not even trying to get people to watch on Friday nights?
  
• There's a new radio station in LA that I've been enjoying. It's Indie 103, and they're counter programming against KROQ by going a bit more independent/alternative and away from the mainstream rock, especially the rap metal-ish stuff. (Of course, I'll always have a place in my heart for KROQ as long as it's the home of Loveline.) But Indie 103 risks losing me as long as they continue with one practice I hate from radio stations--they never, ever, ever tell you the title and artist of the songs they play. Especially from an independent station playing music that's not ubiquitous, this drives me up a tree.
  
• Hmmm, what to say of the latest Survivor? It's hard to pick on Jenna for leaving to be with her dying mother, but I do wonder if some information slipped through, despite Jeff Probst's protestation to the contrary. The loss of Jenna M. leaves Amber as the only Pittsburgh hottie left for me to root for--though my favorite player is still squirrelly Rob (not Boston Rob).
  
• In case anyone was wondering if I'm going to TRASHionals, or for that matter where I'll be in mid-April, the answer is that I booked my tickets Tuesday night, so I'll be there.
  
• Finally, time to rant a bit. I was trying to think of a holiday that seems to be a built-in downer for a large group of people because they are specifically excluded. Days like New Year's are for everyone. Christmas and Easter now have enough of a secular component to leave no one out, and they don't really even specifically cut down non-Christians. I guess you could make a case for Veteran's Day and pacifists, but that's still a stretch.
  So we're left, of course, with Valentine's Day. Does anyone else feel as if Valentine's is almost more designed to bum out single folk than it is to do anything positive for couples? Feb. 14 always seems to be one of the worst bummers of any given calendar year for me. (I suppose there is something I could do about that--but dealing with my near-pathological fear of dealing with women qua women is some other day's breakdown.) If you're single, not only are you alone, but you know you can't even think about trying to do something with any of your married, coupled, or even regularly-dating friends. If you find yourself surrounded mostly by those people, you'd better just resign yourself to a long weekend in front of the tube.
  Now, let's see how Sherman Helmsley does with l-a-c-h-r-y-m-o-s-e...