Flu misery, but it could have been worse

I usually don't run through my yearly allowance of five sick days here at China Daily USA, but I managed to knock them all out in one go last week - in January no less. Why? Because like many people this winter, I got flu.

I don't think I've ever had a single illness that was so debilitating for so many days in a row (about nine). Usually, the few times over the years that I've had flu symptoms there would be two bad days and then some gradual improvement.

This time, I was at home with the chills watching old movies and TV shows (I recommend The Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock Presents) and reading obsessively about how dangerous this flu season was.