S's Anatomy

From an unnamed university in the greater San Francisco Bay Area...

First, let me apologize to our reader(s?) for my absence. K took it like a champ, like I knew she would, but for anyone hoping to kill 45 seconds of work day time with a pointless anecdote, I'm sorry to have disappointed.

As K mentioned, I went home sick yesterday. Despite what you might think, I don't actually like staying home sick and generally fight it as much as possible. I'd been stuffy and slightly feverish all week, but nothing to warrant staying home as far as I could tell. Yesterday morning started off fine, I actually even fit a run in before work (though I did go to work an hour late, but oh well). I thought I had kicked the damn thing once and for all and was feeling good.

Until about 11:00am when the sinus headache reared its ugly head. I told my officemate I was going to walk across the street to our beloved corner market for some overpriced Sudafed and asked if she wanted anything. As I was leaving the market, I ran into our dean who saw the Sudafed, asked if I was feeling sick and told me to just go home. I said oh, no, it wasn't that bad, I was just doing this as precautionary measure. I am young, healthy, and strong, not to worry.

I popped two pills with some cranberry Kombucha (god do I love the crap out of some Kombucha), and was sure I'd be back in top form in no time. But instead the pain grew so intense I felt like I had to reach through it to access my brain. I was trying to write a letter to our central admissions system requesting exceptional admission for one of our international students (riveting stuff, I know, but stay with me) and when I looked at the screen to see what I had typed so far: "Dear Mauumill". Now to the best of my knowledge, there's no one working in that office named Mauumill, and it definitely wasn't the name of the person I was trying address. I finally gave in that my headache was rendering me useless(er) and told my officemate I was going home.

I was supposed to speak at the faculty meeting yesterday, so I went to find the dean to tell him that I couldn't. "Hey, [Dean], I am going to take your advice and just go home. I'm really not feeling well."

His response was one of the following:

1. "Okay S, get some rest, I hope you feel better."
2. "You poor thing, take all the time you need."
3. "HA! I TOLD YOU! I TOLD you to go home and you didn't listen! Well yes, leave now, you look terrible."