Hat on Top, Coat Below
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Is it time to go home yet?
December 27, 2002
I’m out of step with the rest of my office today. It’s not an official company holiday, but the boss is away and so are a lot of other people and most of the people who are here are not getting much done. The music’s louder (the “you must wear headphones” rule was rescinded, but still people aren’t supposed to let the sound out of their offices) and the shooting the breeze conversations are longer and just a few minutes ago, one web developer chased another up the stairs. Usually we don’t have running in the office. The chasee ran into his office and closed and locked the door and then began talking to his pursuer in a little old lady voice through the door, pretending he didn’t know who was at the door. Evidently the guy in the office had said something that offended the guy who chased him upstairs, but they didn’t go into details so my curiosity remains unsatisfied.
Meanwhile, I’m feeling lousy because I came down with another cold (or what my mother-in-law calls “the Florida crud”) at the tail end of our trip but I can’t go home because I’m covering for some of the people who are gone, plus I’ve got work to do because my biggest customer is on a rampage trying to get things done before he leaves for vacation next week. I’ve spent about half the day just answering his e-mails about this loose end and that thing he meant to follow up on. Just when I thought it was safe to pack it up and go, I got a support call from someone who’s managed to hose their access. What do I look like, a sys admin? I gave the caller some things to try and once she’s reported back, I’m gone.
I am so looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow, provided I can breathe while lying down in bed, that is. The past two nights I’ve done a lot of tossing and turning and folding my pillow in half to see if propping my head up helps and piling more blankets on and pushing some of the blankets off and just generally trying to get comfortable and not managing very well. It’s a wonder Mr. Karen hasn’t decamped to the guest room. This cold is worse than the one I came home from Colorado with. That one pretty much stayed in my throat and head, but this one’s moved down to my chest and has given me a lovely cough.
Bummer. I’d hoped to go to the zoo this weekend, to see what the snow monkeys are doing now that we have some serious white stuff on the ground, but walking around in the cold doesn’t sound like fun. I’d also hoped to see a movie or two, but I don’t want to disturb everyone around me with my coughing and nose blowing and germ spreading. Maybe I’ll feel better by the New Year’s holiday. I had such a long run of not getting sick that I suppose I was due, but that doesn’t really help me feel any better about getting two colds in three weeks. Still, there is a bright side; it’s been easy to get back into normal eating habits after the holiday indulgence since nothing really tastes that good to me when my nose is all stuffed up. It’s more eating to live than living to eat around here for a change. I’m guessing a few days of that won’t entirely make up for the cake and cookie fest I’ve been having the last couple weeks, but it’s got to help.
My suggestions to the woman who called about her access didn’t work, probably because she had the error message wrong. “Oh, it doesn’t say X, it says Y”. I can’t help her with Y, and all the people who can are gone, but she’s decided she can wait until Monday, so I am out of here.
