Sick Day

I have a cold. A miserable cold.

Actually, the cold itself isn't so bad. It's the cough that's making me miserable. Every time I attempt to have a conversation with someone, I start coughing and I can't stop.

That's why I left work early today. You see, a big part of my job is talking to people. In fact, the main thing that I needed to do today was call a dozen people or so and interview them. But after coughing all the way through a 20-minute phone conversation -- with my headset on and off of mute to spare the victim on the call from listening to me cough -- I had to give up and come home. My throat was in agonizing pain by the end of our talk.

So, I came home and e-mailed questions to some sources and laid down on the couch to watch "Pride & Prejudice." After a couple of hours of peace and quiet, it might not be so bad to be miserably sick more often. Then again, there will be hell to pay whenever I do make it back into the office and try to meet next week's deadlines while simultaneously attending a conference.

Sigh ... I guess I'll just work over the weekend. The break was nice while it lasted.