September 5, 2000

I'm sick.

Really. I'm sick.

I wasn't feeling that badly when I went to sleep last night. I realized when I woke up this morning that I was unable to breathe through my nose during the night. Naturally, this meant that I was breathing through my mouth… the alternatives were to either die of asphyxiation, or become amphibian and breathe through my skin.

It was one of those lovely mornings when you realize that your sinuses are dry. Very dry… to the point where I was trying to inhale as much steam during my shower as I could. It didn't help much, I went from feeling like a raisin to feeling like a wet raisin. My body was aching in places that I wasn't aware of. My joints were aching. I'm not sure which part I disliked more, the sinuses or the joints; not that I had to choose, mind you, I got them both.

It would appear that I was involuntarily coughing and sneezing during the night, because my abs were feeling extremely sore. I'm sure it included sneezing since I was still sneezing when I got out of bed. Naturally, sneezing caused my body to jerk, which accented the pain in my joints quite nicely.

I could tell you that I called in sick, but I won't… because I didn't. During the last nine years of work, I believe that I have had a total of two or three sick days, and I know that two of them were caused by a kidney stone. I did however, take one of those orange day gelcaps, which made me feel considerably better. Hmmm… better living through chemistry.

September 5, 2000