You know what pisses me off? The way television sitcoms portray their characters when they are suffering from a cold or the flu.

When I have a cold, it's little more than an inconvenience. I have to deal with the snot and the coughing or whether my sinuses will drain or not. I am 56 years old and I've had a job since I was 13 years old. In those 43 years, I have never missed a single minute of work because of a cold. I take medicine in the morning, throw a dose or two in my pocket for later in the day, and go about my business. I avoid getting too close to coworkers and just deal with my malady. On TV, people with the common cold wander aimlessly about the house, wrapped in a thick bathrobe, wearing slippers, and moaning as if someone's evil pair of hands is wringing their guts while they walk.

Flu victims are portrayed in an even more over-the-top fashion, similar to the little cartoon above. Why would one soak his or her feet? When I've had the flu in the past, probably the only parts of my body that weren't affected were my feet. If my feet get cold, I can put on socks, but I sure as hell am not going to lug around a pan of warm water from room to room. I check my temperature only once a day, if that often. I know when I have a fever - I ache all over. When joints in my body that don't normally hurt become tender and sensitive, I know something's up. I don't need to keep a running record of my temperature. I'm not a nurse making rounds in a hospital.

On TV, when a character has the flu, he or she acts as if they are inches from death's door. They are inevitably bundled up in pajamas (does anyone wear pajamas anymore?), wearing a bathrobe, wrapped in a thick blanket and carrying tissues while a thermometer dangles from their lips. They moan and groan and act as if every movement is a new adventure in agony. (If they hurt that badly, why get out of a nice warm bed?) When asked how they're feeling, the general response is some witty retort comparing how they feel with being beaten by a bag of oranges or how they would welcome death because it clearly is a better alternative than having diarrhea and a runny nose.

I know that this is done for comedic effect, but I have no patience with it. It's unnecessary, over-the-top nonsense that likely doesn't happen in anyone's house in the real world. It just pisses me off.