Sadly, I've finally caught the horrible cold that's been traveling around our neighborhood. Poor Patrick has had it for several days now - see his entry from yesterday - and I just heard from today's planned coffee date that her version has mutated into a nasty feverish flu. I'm very much hoping mine doesn't get that bad, but I'm feeling pretty grim in the meantime and feeling very sorry for myself. I don't like this time of winter! Too many floating diseases!

I read an absolutely fantastic story today, though, that not only distracted me from my moaning & self-pity but also sent me straight to SFWA's website to recommend it for a Nebula the moment I stopped reading it: Dead, by Haddayr Copley-Woods, which was published this morning in Strange Horizons. It's my favorite short story I've read in a long time - freaky, cool, and magical in a way that felt truly unnerving. If you haven't read it yet, it's definitely worth checking it out!

Also, I finally watched Being Human, a tester pilot that's been released by BBC3 for a possible new supernatural TV series. A vampire, a werewolf, and a ghost share a flat in Bristol...of course, they all look like they're in their 20s and they have relationship issues as well as supernatural ones. There were definitely a few moments that drifted too far for me into cliché (ohhhh, those bad-guy vampires were SO bad! they practically needed mustaches to twirl as they made their threatening statements!), but there were also some really great moments, the actors were all fantasic, and the writing was surprisingly good, so I'm hoping it does get greenlit for a full series.

Now I'm going back to sucking down fluids and moaning softly to myself. Maya's lying on top of my legs, keeping my feet warm and tolerating my moaning with her usual good nature. Earlier today, when I was shuffling around the house looking for another box of tissues, I was ranting out loud, "I hate colds, I hate sore throats, I hate..." when suddenly I looked down and there was Maya staring up at me from Good Dog Pose with a very worried look in her eyes, her tail wagging nervously. I looked down at her, relaxed, and said, "But I love Maya!" and she bounced up for petting. So self-pity is not quite triumphant in our household after all.