We hadn't scheduled a departmental outing for over a year. 
We finally got one
scheduled for last Friday. I haven't been sick enough to miss work in two years.
Everything was fine until I went to bed Thursday night. I couldn't sleep. At
first I thought I just wasn't tired. That theory wore off about 2am when, in 
addition to not being able to sleep my throat and ears hurt, my back and legs
started aching for no reason, and I broke out in a cold sweat. I laid in bed 
until 7am getting a total of maybe 2 hours sleep before waking up for work. 
After showering I felt better, like I could pull through (I'm a trooper). 
Staggering into my office feeling woozy and unable to concentrate, 
work proceeded to 
blast me with an especially insipid series of tasks and I spent the morning
not meeting my 1pm corporate deadline.
<p>
My health got progressively worse as the morning proceeded, and the specifics
of my work load did wonders for destroying morale. Everyone else left at 11:15,
but I really didn't feel up to it, nor did I want to sabotage the health of
my entire department. I fought the good fight until noonish before giving up.
I went home and spent Friday and Saturday alternately sleeping or attempting
to sleep. At 7pm both nights my non/slumber was interrupted by the 
Shelterbelt's latest production "<b>From The Belt With Love</b>," 
a series of 1 act
plays oriented around Valentine's Day. It's been a marvelous run so far -- we
even sold out last night in the middle of a 5 inches of snow, 30 mph wind
"blizzard." I'm running lights for the show and will post a photo 
on my <a href=/theatre/>thespianism page</a> as soon
as <a href="http://www.shelterbelt.org">the 'Belt's</a> 
webmaster gets done with a redesign he's apprently in the 
middle of. If someone ever offers you the opportunity to sit (not stand,
because the ceiling is too low) in a light/sound booth for 2 hours being 
deathly quiet (the booth isn't sealed) while your back and legs are aching,
your nose is running, you're (quietly) coughing up phlegm and (silently)
sneezing and groaning/moaning from the general discomfort of it all I
recommend you decline the invitation.
<p>
I am feeling much better this morning, as you can probably tell from the fact
that I can concentrate enough to spew forth this mountain of drivel. -grin-