you give me fever....

I went to Seattle last week to visit some college friends and had a wonderful time hanging out. The only drawback was that one of the youngest members of the crew (Hi Sam!) was missing some very special days of kindergarten because he was sick. Really sick. High fevers, coughing, snuffly nose, and a sore throat.

While I was there, I washed my hands until they were visibly dry and cracking. I held my breath whenever I was in the same room with him. I drank more than my share of Emergen-C.
(Sorry Sam! You looked miserable....best to play it safe.)

But alas, sometimes we just get sick. And let's not peg all of this on Sam anyhow. The guy sitting next to me on the plane ride home kept coughing with his mouth closed in the way that suggests "I'm coughing but not really because my mouth is closed, therefore it doesn't count as a cough. It's just a little blockage in my airway."

I do not have the full resources of CSI and thus, I will probably never know the origin of my miserable bug. But I have spent the last 4 days wearing the same clothes (pajamas) and have not left the house. I have endured a hacking cough, sore throat, fevers, and now a little green thing we call mucus. But that's not the ugly stuff really.

The real tragedy was when I looked in the mirror and realize that yes, I really could have a miserable "celebrity mugshot" if I were arrested in that instant.

We've all seen those celebrity mugshots and sometimes we say "Ha! Look at you pretty actress...you're not so pretty now, are you?" and sometimes we take those opportunities to remember how much professional makeup artists work to keep their clientèle looking pristine. But then there are times when we see those photos and recognize a little bit of ourselves. Just a smidgen of our own self in the photo.

I'm not trying to say that I looked like Paris Hilton in her mugshot (click here to view) because frankly, she looks really good. I'd be happy if I looked this good in the photo on my driver's license.

After so many days of being sick and moving from bed to sofa, back to the bed, I was starting to have more of that Nick Nolte (click here to view) thing about me. I guess that's what happens when you rely on nyquil to sleep and wake up drooling on your pillow. Add in the pajamas and a fever, and quite frankly, nobody would use the word "fresh" to describe me.

I am happy to report though that I am beginning to feel better. And I will be venturing out of the house at some point on Friday to take a mandatory drug test for my new job. Yes, I have to adhere to the standard requirements of all new ND staff hires and take a drug test. Apparently they need a strand of my hair so I will make sure to wash it before I leave the house.

No reason to give the testing agency any ideas about my compliance with the law - sure they aren't supposed to discriminate on the basis of race, gender, or my apparent cleanliness. But if I show up looking like Nick Nolte's mugshot, we all know how this story will end.

So this post is really just to say that "I'm coming back." But don't play it in your head the way the little girl from poltergeist said it. It's more like this: I'm going to be back on email soon. I'm going to be leaving the house soon. And yes, showers will now be part of my regular routine once again.