I really thought I was done being sick. The weather was getting warmer. Spring had sprung. And I was done getting sick.

But no. It snowed this week, and I’ve had the worse cold I’ve had all season since last Thursday.

The worst part is that I haven’t been able to call in sick. I had already planned on taking last Friday off because I had to work on Sunday. And I had to work on Sunday because I was going to a conference from Sunday through Wednesday. So on Friday I couldn’t call in sick because I was already out. And Sunday through Wednesday, well, I can’t exactly call in sick when I’m at a conference for which my department has paid a substantial amount of money.

So I’m pushing through. I’m doing my best to interact socially with other humans while minimizing contact. My default face right now is mouth-breathing exhaustion – not a good look on anyone. Turns out this was extremely bad timing for me not to be consuming caffeine. Sure, it might not actually help, but the fact that I’m not having it makes me feel it would if I could.

I thought about visiting a Crossfit gym while in Salt Lake City, since there was one about a mile from where I was staying, but I am having a hard time walking the two blocks from my hotel to the conference center – I’m in no state to work out, even though I packed workout clothes with high hopes of getting better while napping on the bus.

My husband thinks I need to pre-clean the treadmill at the gym to avoid this kind of illness. I’ll try anything, but it makes me sad to have to give up on the idea that the other users of the gym are not filthy beasts who can’t figure out how to use a spray bottle.

But that will only help future me. Present me is burning through boxes of kleenex and cold medicine, pushing through and doing her best not to get every other person at the conference sick.

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