(no subject)

Woke up this morning and found that yesterday's sore throat and tickly ears had bloomed into an honest-to-God cold, so I've spent the day performing heroic feats like Sitting On The Couch and Eating Food I Can't Taste and Taking The Car To Get Repaired (except in a whole new way than usual, i.e. today I just dropped it off and came home, as had a handy roommate with a car - pretty cool, except I need to remember never to tell Iulia how much auto repairs cost, especially if I want to be pleased about it). Right now I'm debating ordering pizza (maybe I could taste it? I like the texture, anyway...) but earlier I took a nap and after I woke up I could feel my cold perching in my bronchia, just waiting to set me coughing if I took an unwary breath, so I was breathing deeply and slowly, belly rising and falling instead of my chest, and wondering, not for the first time...

How does *that* work? I mean, the air's still got to be going into your lungs, right? So how does belly breathing work vs. chest breathing? Anybody know?

(no subject)

Hey, iuliamentis, and anybody else who's for some reason inclined to think I might know what I'm on about here!

Go read these:

The Art of Make Believe by Abaddon, in which a boy named Harry Potter has a little talk with a guidance counselor named Hallie, and makes a little wish.

And

Christmas, Iowa Style and The Weary World Rejoicing by annakovsky, in which a post-Buffy-and-world-saving Riley and a post-apocalypse-that-gets-the-job-done Xander and Anya and Spike, respectively, observe the season.

(So they're a bit past the sell-by date for this year, so what? Fic does not go bad. Read it.)