RoadTrip MidWest 2010: Gut Wrenching Postponement

Today was supposed to be Day One of my MidWest Roadtrip.

Just me. In a car ALONE. Going to visit friends. Driving for hours. With tunes of my choice. The wind my hair. A song in my heart*. A time to meditate if I chose, to contemplate the still small voice within. Or simply to stop when I needed to, to jot down a revelation, a turn of phrase, or just go to the restroom on my schedule.

Just me. On a vacation that wasn’t a family-related trip of some sort. Solitary and not as a third or fifth or seventh wheel. A trip that didn’t involve a pat down by the TSA, trains, planes, and subway shuttles. One with my OWN itinerary for once—one that was pages in length, and yet, somehow, didn’t involved lots of concrete plans.

Just me. Getting to point A to see friend A and their city. Then after two nights, off to point B to see friend B. Etc. Rinse and Repeat.

Just me. 12-13 days on the road. A bunch of friends. Five kids. Four cities. Three states. Two stuffed animals/alter egos. One hotel. One car. One former Sunday School teacher. One major holiday. One honorary aunt and uncle. Lots of pictures and experiences. Hopefully lots of cuddles from the "nieces" and "nephew." Hopefully some beach time. Hopefully some silly girly gossip time. Hopefully some ice cream, a Chicago dawg, hand-pulled taffy, deep dish pizza, and holiday treats. Hopefully some wonderful explorations off the beaten tracks in these people’s hometowns.

Notice the SUPPOSED TO BE.

I should know better by know to put things out and into the cosmos.

It did take some gut wrenching thoughts and some wise counsel to postpone the trip. Not to mention some common sense and better judgement.

I’m not the only one upset by this. Hopefully the kids and alters will forgive me eventually.

Apparently 2010 isn’t going to be the year of the RoadTrip for Auntie Nettie, but the Year of the Medical Mysteries.

Thank goodness for steady employment and medical insurance. I do know how fortunate I am.

Hopefully this round of antibiotics work. I have plans you see. Plans for later this summer. Plans that involve travel. I just don't want to mention them, or I'll jinx them with another unknown virus.

*"On the road again. I just can't wait to get on the road again ..."

Sick Days -- Have 'em? So USE THEM!

Sleepy

Achy

Stuffy

Sniffley

Dopey

Cough-y

Woozy

These are the 7 Dwarfs of "off" that I've been since the weekend. When I constantly need to put my head down and take a 4 hour nap, and do so willingly, or have to prop my head up to type, it's time to not ignore what the old body is telling you.

I even took a cat nap at the desk yesterday. That's not a good sign on the day of the Big J's Big Gala.

I'll be taking a few days off the blog (and work, thank goodness for sick days) and catching some zzzs before this turns into a flu-fest or walking pneumonia.

Don't Mock the Pro/Con List!*

Thanks to a combination of suppressed immunity, exhaustion, commuting, and an office-mate who's been sick for the last three weeks, I finally succumbed to some germ warfare and was/am ill. I stayed home from work the last two days and had too much time to contemplate the state of being home sick.

In honor of Rory*, here's my Pro/Con list, or what I can remember from my semi-delusional drug-enhanced state.

Pro:

• Sleeping in;
• HGTV;
• Morning naps;
• Repeats of Gilmore Girls on ABC Family;
• Staying in jammies or sweats all day;
• Food Network;
• Long hot showers;
• The Create Channel;
• Afternoon naps;
• No deadlines;
• No one in laundry room;
• Watching free stuff via cable provider;
• Evening naps;
• Being home to talk on phone when old friend calls instead of at 1 of 4 jobs;
• Drug highs.

Con:

• Being sick;
• Daytime t.v. on major broadcast channels (How many “Judge” shows do we need anyway? Oh, and 4 hours of the Today show? Why?!);
• Stuffy head;
• Endlessly repeating commercial blocks on every channel;
• Being sick;
• Neighbor who plays #%(@*) electric bass and acoustic guitar at all hours of the day and night … Hello? 1 a.m. is NOT the time to be playing your guitar, nor is 8 a.m.! For that matter, just STOP PLAYING ALTOGETHER!;
• Sinus headaches;
• Neighbor who can’t shut his door without shaking entire apartment building;
• Wracking coughs;
• Neighbor who can’t walk across apartment without shaking entire apartment building – and who lets his dog run back and forth across the apartment and chase things;
• Brain oozing out of ear after three days of sleeping, drugs, and television;
• Diet Coke withdrawal headaches;
• Claustrophobia after staying in studio apartment for 72 hours straight.
  

*Rory, Gilmore Girls, Season 6, Episode 17 "I'm OK, You're OK"

Whoops!

You know your week is off to a "good" start when:

You just have to take a mental health/sick day on a Monday.

You finally drag your butt into work the next day--very, very, very late, whereupon you pass your department head/v.p. in the hall at 9:30 with all your stuff; only to get to your desk and find an e-mail from him at 9:05 that reads:

This is to remind everyone that office hours are from 9:00AM until 5:00PM, and I expect every member of this department to be here during that time.

... all I ask is that you are here working between the hours that [the Big J's] offices are open.

WHOOPS.

later in the day, after pondering the message some more ...

Okay, dude, but what about potty breaks, what about my lunch "hour," what about those days I have to supposedly work late for events? Can you also define what you mean by "working" because it seems like to me, my definition of "working" is extremely different than other people's. Plus, you get paid about 10 times what I get paid (NOT exaggerating!) and I don't live 10 blocks away in a fancy schmancy NYC Westside apartment. Sometimes I can't do anything about the reliability and timeliness of the two forms of mass transit that I have to take to get to the office.

Huh! Me thinks it's time for an attitude adjustment (MINE!) and for me to be thankful that I'm in this industry and not another, say, further downtown, on Wall Street.

Now, who's going to wake me up at the crack of dawn so I can not get yelled at at 9:01 a.m. tomorrow? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Wednesday UPDATE:

Thanks for the two calls this morning, bro. I realize that you are 3 hours behind me, AND working on the night shift (you vampire you!) so I really appreciate it. Ummmm. If you are going to call again, can you please call me earlier? I was already on the train (still not the early one) and then in the office when you called me.

Thanks!

MIA? Thanks for noticing ...

Is it "starve a cold, feed a fever" or "feed a cold, starve a fever?" I can never remember. Not that it matters now ...

Almost a week into the cold/flu bug that knocked me flat on Wednesday, and I'm just now beginning to remember what it's like to not have snot dripping down my face. (Lovely, right?) Now I'm just exhausted, pale, hacking with post-nasal drip, and ready to go back to bed again. Fooey with this working thing.

It's times like the last week -- when my nose was peeling from all the sneezing, when I was wracked one minute with chills and the next with a raging fever, and when I was falling asleep about 1 hour (or less) after my last nap only to awake in a puddle of sweat and drool, and when my apartment was covered with tissues and discarded o.j. containers -- that affirmed to me once again that I hate being sick.

Is it time to go home yet and go back to bed?

The Amazing Adventures of ... the Shushing Librarian

We apologize for the interruptions in this blog. Auntie Nettie and the Shushing Librarian were both struck down with the flu-like symptoms that have been circulating. Unfortunately, they have been abed and away from the Internet.

More to come ... as the work desk is undug, energy is revitalized, and I have more time to waste.