Things not to do when you're feeling sick-ish

11/17:  Go to work anyway.

11/18:  After working all night, go to a veterinarian in Allentown.  (My mom was driving for this.)

11/19:   Six-hour driving marathon with mom, stopping at several places twice.  (I was driving for this part, gradually getting sicker the whole while.)

11/20:  Spend day being sick.  (OK, that's something you should do when feeling sick-ish.)  Talk with several friends on the phone for the first time in months; end every conversation with "It hurts to talk."

11/21:  Go to church.  Infect entire congregation.

11/22:  Stay home from work.  (Again, this is something you should do, and I did.)

11/23:  Go to work, against everyone's advice.  Slip on the health-o-meter from 95% to 80% or lower.

11/24:  Go to work again.  Spend entire night feeling like crap.  Realize that the last two nights of work have undone any recuperation and have basically put you back where you were on 11/17.

11/25:  Thanksgiving dinner with family; infect them all.  (Actually, I didn't do this.  I stayed at home and slept, then ate my dinner while watching the Kung-Fu Panda marathon.)

11/26:  Travel to Allentown to meet someone you're hoping to impress while the act of talking proves physically exhausting.  Make a side-trip to the Poconos to infect various friends and their children.  Nearly run out of gas on the way home.

11/27:  Yard work.  Rake leaves and shovel acorns in sub-40 temperatures with a stiff breeze.  Spend first half-hour after coming back inside coughing.    Realize that you are again back to where you were on 11/17.

And next...who knows?