I've had a cold for the last week, which has knocked me out pretty thoroughly. Lots of sleep, hot tea, a little writing and coding here and there when I feel unfuzzy, but most of the time, my brain isn't up to very rigorous thinking. I've come to terms with this. I'm a person who's used to moving toward a goal at almost all times. It's a bit distressing for me to be still. But it's also good.

I felt very lucky to get sick at almost the exact moment a new Netflix series came online, House of Cards, season 2. I had watched both the first season on Netflix and the BBC show it's based on. I thought the second season on Netflix was pretty awful. Lots of scenes that were obviously stretched out, presumably because they didn't have enough plot to fill the allotted time, or maybe enough money to fund the production. I watched because I had nothing better to do, but I wasn't impressed, or particularly entertained.

When it was over, there was a void. What to do to fill the time now? A good friend suggested Orange is the New Black, so I gave it a try. It was a little slow and stupid at first. I really wasn't all that interested in a girly show about a yuppie who goes to prison for a year, but by the second and third episode, it was clear it wasn't that. It is a comedy, there are lots of LOL moments, but it's also a great story, with hugely compelling and interesting characters, and the acting is fantastic. By the time the season is over, you have a real kinship with many of the characters, they all have depth, including the main character who most people seem to dislike, but I think that's kind of the point. She's going through a morphing process. Finding out who she really is. Prison is removing the yuppie veneer one step at a time. It's really great television, right up there with the best. Makes you wonder why it isn't the show everyone is talking about and House of Cards is?