Todd Stadler's blog

Hello from the sick bed

Okay, technically, I'm writing this from the sick couch (I got tired of the sick bed hours ago).

And while I was sitting on said couch, pondering how boring it is to be sick and sit around all day, I thought, "You know what else is boring? My blog!" And what better way to make a blog less boring than by perfunctorily writing a possibly-sickness-haze-induced stream-of-consciousness state-of-my-gastrointestinal-tract screed that is in danger of violating some ethical code regarding hyphenated words? Indeed.

So, the story so far: I got sick* some time on Tuesday (technically, some times) but powered through work until I couldn't take it no more.

This wasn't so much a sign of my steely dedication to work, but rather an indication of how much I feared the bus ride home. Because the only thing worse than being sick* in the relative comfort of your office bathroom is being sick* in the absolute discomfort that is the the back of a bus — I mean, someone could blog about how gross it was that someone else got sick* on their bus and that would be me and then the whole blogosphere would know that I got sick* and how embarrassing would that be**?

Anyhow, I came home, found out I had a fever, and Julia convinced me to call in sick Wednesday, which I did. However, as these things happen, I wasn't nearly as sick* the day I stayed home as the day before — I merely felt achy and crappy all day. But! I somehow managed to avoid watching daytime TV, which likely was one of the reasons I felt better by the end of the day.

Which was a good thing, since my friend Todd (one of at least three non-me Todds I know, and as such a.k.a. "Oakland Todd") arrived in town Wednesday night to speak at the Web Visions conference. (The conference being cheapskates and only paying for Thursday night at a hotel, he got to spend Wednesday night at Le Hotel Stadlere, which, frankly, is no Radisson if you know what I mean.)

Anyhow, it was good to get to hang out with Todd, who I feel like I know quite well through various blogs, though it turns out we probably doubled our cumulative face-to-face discussion time on Wednesday night. Still, I have two friend-of-a-friend routes to Todd, and if social networking sites have taught me nothing (and they have), it's that such a connection means Todd and I share a lot in common (though hopefully not my sickness) and I trust his opinions. Which is true, even if it came off snarky. Message: good times.

Having enjoyed the social atmosphere so much, I concluded two things. First, that I was over my sickness and could go in to work Thursday. Second, that it would be fun to get up with early birds Todd (not me) and Julia and all ride the bus downtown together. Both conclusions would ultimately prove wrong.

Okay, getting up at 6 a.m. wasn't actually that bad. In fact, it was even educational — why, did you know that the sun is already up then, and so are a lot of people, all of whom were apparently riding the #4 bus to downtown! You'd think that, it being so early, people would be pretty lackadaisical about getting on the bus ("Oh, hey, the bus is kind of full ... dude, I'll just catch another bus ... I've got time ... it's, like, way early, you know?"), but no. Still, more time to hang out with Todd (again, not me).

It's indicative of either how early I got up or how late I normally get in to work that, even while walking around downtown with Oakland Todd for a bit, I still managed to get in to work more than an hour before I usually do. Most people in the office weren't in yet, the sun was shining, I was looking forward to the work I had to do, the birds were singing, ... and I got sick† again.

And so I schlepped home on the bus, this time right after I got sick† so as to minimize the chance of my getting sick† en route. And then back in bed. Or on the couch. You know, to change things up, keep them from getting stale.

I can't remember if I had a point when I began all this, but there you go.

*Notice how I'm not telling you how I "got sick" — in fact, I'm using the phrase to indicate that, while I was in fact sick at all times chronicled, there were certain times I made it externally obvious. That (minor) obscuring of this illness manifestation is what passes for decorum on blogs these days. And yet, I respect the public's right to know everything else about me, provided I'm not too lazy to write about it, which I usually am.

**Oh yes, that subtle scent you smell is, in fact, irony.

†No asterisk here — this was a different manner of sickness! And yet, by not going that small extra step to specify exactly how I was sick, I maintain that I'm keeping it "clean", "family-friendly", "for the kids".