I'm not sure how I'm feeling about this "o" theme anymore.  I think it holds me back from posting because I'm not clever enough to come up with the right "o" word.  And often I'll cheat...using things like "Oh No" and "Ooops" and "Ooof".  And how many variations of outrage and oppose can I use?  I have ideas for "o" subjects, but I'm just biding my time until the right opportunity comes along.    I'm going to have to think about this.  Maybe at the end of the year...that would be a good transition point.  Should I start over with a new letter or let it go?  So much to think about.  Sorry to show my weakening resolve on the whole "o" thing--it would be much more respectable if it just looked effortless.

But really, why I started this post is to say that yesterday, I felt the first signs that I'm getting sick.  That slight tickle in the back of my throat.  On the plane last night, everyone around me was hacking and sneezing and coughing--so nerve wracking!  To have that tickle in my throat and know being around all those other germs wasn't helping me.  The guy seated next to me looked like he was hoping to perish.  I didn't even begrudge him his tomato juice--figuring he could use all the vitamins he could get.  Once we landed, I ran straight to the drug store and got some Zicam...I swear by the stuff.  Since I discovered it, I haven't had any of those long prolonged colds that I usually get once or twice a year.  If I get sick at all, it lasts a couple of days and that's it.  I've been taking Zicam ever since I got home last night, but the tickle is more pronounced now.  I'm still not what I would classify as "sick" but I feel it coming.  Augh!  Such a helpless feeling!  I have way too much work to do!!!  Though I'm slightly relieved that if I do get sick, it will be before my Christmas trip.  Which is a nice change because usually my body holds out until I get past a big push at work--once a big deadline is met.  And I usually have a vacation planned after that big deadline.  So once I am removed from the stress and rush, that's when my body breaks down and gets sick.  So then I'm sick during my vacation.  Very uncool.  Though it's really not fun trying to deal with the stress and rush when I'm sick either...it would probably just be best if I didn't get sick.  

I'm considering being one of those people at the airport you see wearing a surgical mask.  I'm starting to see the benefit.  I wonder if there's a way to make them more stylish.  Could that be a huge untapped market?  Making surgical masks fashionable?  Maybe decorating them in fake gemstones, team logos, faux fur, designer logos, or witty sayings that, until now, have been reserved mostly for t-shirts and bumper stickers.  My first thought for what to call them was "Sani-Style", but as soon as I thought of that, I cringed. I envision those being the cheap knock-offs you find at the end of the aisle in the Walmart pharmacy.  It's a terrible name and my soon-to-be fashion sensation deserves a noble and exciting name.  Maybe it doesn't have to have a name that reflects what it is.  I could just come up with a new word...Oolars.  Wait, think about, maybe it sounds stupid, but imagine getting used to it.  "Here, you can borrow some of my Oolars."  "That Oolar is sooooooo cute--where did you get it?"  "I need to pick up some Oolars for our trip."  Of course then someone will develop the "Sani-Style" knock offs, but people will call those Oolars too, weakening my branding...man, that's really going to make me mad.

And it has the additional benefit of being an "o" word, so that if my business takes off, I can talk about it in my blog and use it as a subject line.