Did I tell you I got perfect attendance award for my high school?

I usually never miss work for illness, but I was hammered this week with the flu, so I was forced (by fever no less) to take a day off and just slept and slept and slept. I haven't felt on top of things all week, but have, as Frost can attend, miles to go before I sleep this week, so I went to work anyway. I was debating about this move, given that I do not need to make the people I work with ill, since we all rely on them to make my workplace function. I have, therefore, been hiding away, avoiding close contact with anyone so as not to infect them. No doubt, however, I have and next week I will be paying the price by covering for the ill.

Let me describe this particular brand of influenza: you start out with a violent, random, cough that progresses by the next day into a fever that you can remedy by aspirin or your other favorite anti-febrile. By day three, you feel somewhat ok again, aside from the same random cough. The fever has broken, however. Day 4 has a special treat since you go through swings of feeling great and then suddenly take a chill. Next stop: nasal issues and sneezing--oh the sneezing, and wham-bam thank you ma'am the fever returns (again easily controlled by your favorite anti-febrile).

Who knows what day 5 has in store for me? No rest for the weary, however, since I must plug on with my professional commitments (I am attending a conference tomorrow and Saturday.) Thank god I'm not flying. Will I develop sores? Will it move to my lungs and debilitate me like the only other time I've missed work in the last 3 years (that was a whole week and it was pneumonia!) That illness was part of the reason I decided to stay home one day this week--I think it shook some sense into me that if I try to work while ill, I'll just make myself more ill. I don't think I wrote about that time. Maybe I did. I think another symptom of this vile disease is forgetfulness. See I was supposed to mention something up there in paragraph 2 and I've already forgotten what it was.

So my advice to all the ill out there: stay home and do yourself and your workmates a favor. Of course that means you would actually have to get sick leave (many companies no longer provide it) or don't have an ass-load of commitments to see to.

So that means none of us get to stay home, right?