Last week I had a 3-day meeting out of town with library colleagues from across the state. As successful as the meeting was, I was plagued the whole time by a clogged left ear, which has resulted in muffled sound for the past couple of weeks.

The meeting was challenging enough being engaged throughout 14 hour days, not being able to excuse myself to check my BG as often as I would have liked, and enjoying uber-delicious food in the evenings with little regard to what effects it was going to have on my BG (not to mention my waistline). When they are serving macaroni and cheese made with truffle oil and a crunchy breadcrumb top, you’ve got to just take what life is giving you, and be damned the consequences.

But now that I’m back home, I decided to see an ENT to figure out why my ear sounds like it has a cotton ball stuffed in it. His diagnosis is that I have fluid behind my left eardrum, and it just needs time to drain. In other words, I paid for an expert to tell me to keep doing what I’ve been doing…nothing. At least I know it’s not infected, so I can live with that.

He also checked my tonsils, and asked if I have sleep apnea or snore a lot. Anyone who has ever spent the night with me may argue, but I said no, not enough to join Snorers Anonymous. “Hi, my name is Martin, and I am a Snork.”

The ENT’s advice was for me not to put on any weight, because I have the characteristics of someone who could put on weight and have breathing problems. Despite the immediate urge to choke the guy, with a completely straight face I looked at him and asked, “Did you just call me fat?”

I am nothing without a sense of humor.