Almost everyone I know is sick or has been sick in the past two weeks.

I’ve heard of the cold, the flu, the stomach virus … eww.

Since last weekend, I’ve been sniffly and sneezy and sore-throaty myself. Paul’s a little sniffly too, but swears he does not have a cold.

I think I’m almost done with mine though; I can actually speak for more than five minutes today without losing my voice.

So now of course it’s Luis’s turn. He woke up this morning not feeling too well, and I’m pretty sure he’s got the stomach variety. I just brought him some tea, and he’s napping in bed trying not to throw up.

It’s time for spring.

When I was a kid, whenever I left the house, my Dad would tell me to “be careful.”

As a teenager, it really annoyed me. I was responsible … I came home on time, I didn’t drink, I hung around with nice kids. Sure, I wasn’t perfect, and I got away with plenty under the guise of being “a good kid,” but why did he always assume I wasn’t being careful?

Lately, I’ve caught myself saying the same thing to people. It sort of snuck up on me; it took different forms in different situations in an attempt to disguise itself.

“Drive carefully.”

“Get home safe!”

“Safe trip.”

“Be careful; the weather’s bad.”

In retrospect, I realize it wasn’t that my Dad thought I wasn’t going to be careful. It was really just his way of saying that he cared, that it mattered to him that I’d get home safely.

I wish we could be more direct with people. Instead of hiding behind words like, “be careful,” why don’t we just say, “you’re important to me”? Or even tread on the most dangerous, vulnerable ground: “I love you.” (Nonetheless, I’m grateful to my Dad for finding his way to let me know he cared.)

Too many times, we never get to say those words the last time. We’re left with regret about the things we didn’t say because we waited for the right time, the right place, the perfect moment.

The perfect moment is now, today. If you care about someone, take a moment to let that person know. Let it take whatever shape feels right for you, but make sure the message is received.

I love you. You’re important to me. Be careful.

Have you seen these “Happy cows” commercials from the California Milk Advisory Board?

It’s got to be one of the best advertising campaigns I’ve seen in a long time. No matter what kind of mood I’m in, these commercials make me laugh. I will stop Tivo in its tracks to run back for a happy cows commercial.

They have all the commercials and bloopers on their web site. I love it. I’ve been laughing for the last ten minutes straight.

I can’t decide which one is my favorite!

I’m on my way into the city this morning for a fun-filled day of meetings. I’m excited about it, primarily because I haven’t seen Kelly in forever and we’re going to have some drinks after work.

But honey, it ain’t easy.

I got up extra early this morning (5:30, to be exact) to make sure I could be ready to go a few minutes before seven.

I was right on track … nice hot shower, dressed sharply, well fed (bagel with 1/3 less fat cream cheese and a glass of pineapple juice, thanks to Paul), and out the door!

The roads were clear and smooth, and I pulled into the parking lot at the Metro North New Hamburg station with about five minutes to park and get to the platform. (It’s the same distance from my house as the Poughkeepsie station, but because it’s further south it means I can spend ten fewer minutes on the train each way, and that’s a good thing.)

There were no parking spots!

Absolutely no metered spots available. Miles and miles of empty permit spots, but of course I don’t have a permit … it’s not like I schlep to NYC every day.

I drove around, checked each nook and cranny of that stupid lot, and generally expressed my exasperation in healthy and appropriate ways.

And then I called Paul, who surely would be able to fix this for me. (After all, he is my fixer, right?)

He said, “just park in the permit spots, and if you get a ticket we’ll worry about it later.”

Okay, but seriously, I shouldn’t have to. (This is where reality and I part, graciously.)  They should clear the snow out of the fifteen parking spots that are covered. I mean folks, it’s only 7:15 in the morning, and every spot is gone?

Oh, and Allright Parking is really not all right. It’s not good. It’s downright bad. I called them four times trying to see what to do, and three of those times, they hung up on me. The fourth time, I managed to speak with the lovely Christine. Her talent, charm and skill were evident from the moment she answered … I mean, folks, this is a woman who loves her job. She said, “Go to the next station. We can’t do anything about snow. Tickets are $12-25, depending on how many tickets you’ve had before.” Um, thanks. So I can drive down to Beacon and miss the next train too? No, thanks.

I left a nice note on my dashboard in the hopes that the MTA police don’t ticket me. Pretty please?

Kelly, have that drink ready pronto.

For years, my dad and I have been collecting coins. By that, I mean that my dad buys them, gives them to me as gifts, and I catalog them in books.

I enjoy this. It’s cool to see all the new coins coming out, and it’s a nice link between my dad and me … it gives us something to talk about.

We’ve had a lot of success with the state quarter series, and so when the Presidential $1 coin series launched in 2007, my dad didn’t skip a beat.

For Christmas, I got a book, and six dollars: the Philadelphia and Denver minting of Presidents Washington, Adams and Jefferson.

So what does this have to do with Jimmy Carter?

As I read up on this, I learned (unsurprisingly), that in order to be honored, each President must predecease his minting date by at least two years.

This doesn’t really represent a problem for the first 38 presidents; #38 is President Gerald Ford, whose coin will be minted in 2016, at which time he’ll have been dead nearly ten years.

President Carter (#39), however, is also due to have his coin debut in 2016, which means he’ll have to die by 2014. Okay, yes, he is 83 years old today, which would mean that in 2014 he turns 90. But I’m just saying, it’s not very nice to plan for the guy’s death just so he can have a dollar coin with his face stamped onto it.

I mean, either way he’s screwed … if he doesn’t die, it’ll take an Act of Congress to get his coin made. If he does die, well … he’s dead.

In case you didn’t realize, I have an opinion on just about everything. And I’m very rarely shy about sharing it.

This isn’t a new thing.

From the Morris County Daily Record, Friday, February 17, 1995:

Wharton is lax about snow-shoveling code

To the Editor:

As a student at Morris Hills Regional High School in Rockaway and a resident of Wharton, I must take the bus to school each day. This, obviously, dictates that I walk from my house to my bust stop each morning and return home from my bus stop to my house each afternoon.

While this usually is not a problem, recently was an exception. On Feb. 6, there was a great deal of snow on the ground … and on the sidewalks.

Perhaps many readers are unaware that in Wharton there is a borough ordinance that requires snow be removed within 24 hours after it has stopped falling.

For those of us who do know this law exists, we certainly know the Wharton Police Department is very lax in enforcing this ordinance.

I have written to the police department in the past about this problem, and I received neither an answer nor action.

Through their negligence, the police clearly express their lack of concern for both the high school students who travel to their bus stops each day and the younger students, many of whom walk from home to the borough’s public schools.

I suggest anyone concerned by this delinquency on the part of our borough’s police department call the police station and request this ordinance be enforced. It is crucial to provide safety not only for an entire walking community of students but for the rest of the population as well.

CHRIS WYBLE, Wharton

In case you’re wondering, I never got any response from anyone on it.

You win some, you lose some.

The news of Microsoft’s hostile takeover bid for Yahoo has left me surprised, but personally and directly, I’m largely unaffected.

I tend to agree with Google’s contention that this is a bad thing for innovation, competition and transparency on the web … but then, I tend to agree with Google on a lot of things, and I’m a big fan of most Google tools.

I say I’m "unaffected," because I don’t use del.icio.us, Flickr, Yahoo! mail, or any other of their services … but I certainly know plenty of people who do.

I’m not virulently anti-Microsoft by any means. I do think their approach to business is more aggressive and less friendly … but after all, running a business isn’t really about making friends, it’s about making money. Right?

(Hint to Microsoft: some companies think you can do both.)

I had a really good session with my therapist this morning. We spent a lot of time talking about how I’m never satisfied … with anything. Ever.

So my therapist asked, "what is satisfaction? What does it mean to you to feel satisfied?"

And my honest answer was, "I don’t know."

Let’s think about that.

If I want to be satisfied, and I insist I’m not, but I don’t know what it means to be satisfied … then how can I be sure I’m not?

I’m going to spend some time this week thinking about what I really mean, and how I really feel, when I get angry/frustrated/upset about something.

Feel free to challenge me if you think I’m getting mad about one thing, and complaining about something else. It’ll be ugly, but you’ll really be helping.

It’s here, and I’m ready. Normally, I’m in it for the commercials, but this year I’m actually interested in the game.

When we were up in Boston for New Year’s, we watched the Giants and Patriots play their last game of the regular season. The Patriots defeated the Giants 38-35, becoming the first team in NFL history to win 16 regular season games, and leaving them with a season record of 16-0.

It was a great game.

Both teams played great offense, and really poor defense. As a result, the score went back and forth, back and forth.

So today, as the two teams meet again in Arizona, I’m excited to see how each approaches this rematch. I think it’s going to be another great game.

Oh, and I hope the commercials don’t suck.

Even though Paul and Luis disagree.