So I got sick the weekend Aldwin and I went to Detroit. That's already been logged. As has the continual coughing since then. By this past Sunday, another flu/cold thing had hit, and it was decided that a doctor's visit was necessary. Thanks to Lowell's insurance (praise be) and his camaraderie with his doctor's office, I was able to get in for an exam on Monday. I was first diagnosed with bronchitis, but was instructed to get a chest x-ray done as well. On Tuesday, Lowell got a call saying I had a "small pneumonia".

Pneumonia's one of those things you hear and your jaw kind of drops. You immediately think bedrest. I was already at work when I got the diagnosis, and I felt fine sans the continual coughing, so I stayed on and had every intention of working the rest of the week. The doctor confirmed this when I rang her back Wednesday: it is walking pneumonia, which is still present, but not strong enough to waylay me. The antibiotics would make me much less contagious, if contagious at all, so I could still work if I needed, which I do need. Holy Week and Easter are in two weeks, and there's still some prep to be done for that, and I'd rather get it done sooner than later. I should go in tomorrow, but I'm hoping one more day of proper rest will do wonders. Saturday, we have to work on getting the house really cleaned, as I'm sure all the dust and cat hair buildup isn't helping anything.

Because the cough is still fairly strong and phlegmy, the doctor prescribed a second antibiotic to start when the current one runs out (so, Saturday). I am also due back on the 27th of March for another chest x-ray and a proper physical. Some blood was taken on Monday, as well, so if anything strange came from that, we'll discuss it then, too. I know I'm going to be told to lose weight, which I am adjusting my lifestyle to do. We both are, as Lowell has high cholesterol and is working with his doctor to adjust his own eating and activity habits so he doesn't have to be on an expensive cholesterol medication. If the cough is still there and the pneumonia is gone, I'm going to request new inhalers, to see if that will help. She didn't think I needed them when I was last in, but the shortness of breath is getting ridiculous.

My hopes are rising on the exercise front, what with the weather being so nice the past week. I should keep them in check, as this is Chicago, and the weather is always due to turn when you least need it to. We have yet to get Lowell his own exercise ball, though he seemed to enjoy himself a bit too much playing with Alex's. Perhaps we will do that tomorrow when we go shopping.

The most frustrating thing about being sick right now is the headaches. For some reason, I keep getting these pounding sinus headaches. They hurt a million times worse when I cough, and unfortunately, I cough frequently. The tension headache medicine I have is currently in Lowell's car, and that's what seems to help most with these headaches. I have a coffee and fast-acting acetawhateverphin, but so far, no dice. We'll have to see what happens.

I am decidedly late for showering and readying for work. Should probably remedy this.

The weekend was great, despite a few blahs. I started getting sick Thursday, and now I am full blown ailing, with coughs, chest congestion, migraines, a fever, and achy joints. The full brunt of it of course held off until I was hung over and on a five hour train ride home, but whatever. I don't have to start until noon today, so I'll suffer at home until then.

Lots of drinking, dancing, and fun were had on Saturday for Nikki's 21st birthday. We hit up quite a few places, and rounded out the night at a fun club where we danced ourselves silly. I apparently drank more than I intended to, hence the hangover. But all was good. Got rid of some aggression, relaxed, enjoyed good company, all the kind of stuff one hopes to do on a weekend away. Praise be.

The ride home was miserable, but at least it went relatively quickly. The ride to Detroit was miserable in its own way. A train broke down on a one-track section of our route, which resulted in us first sitting on the train and not moving for an hour, and then in us getting transferred to a bus for the remainder of our trip. It was snowing fairly heavily at that point, so it took a great deal more time to get where we needed to go. We left Chicago at 12:15 PM, and arrived in Dearborn (just outside Detroit) at around 10:00 PM EST; about nine hours all told. It took less time to fly to Sweden, as I recall.

This could have made for a cloud over the weekend, but it didn't. Now it's just a story to tell, along with everything else. Good company, good food, good drinks, good music, good company, good conversations, good times. Very, very glad I went.

I arrived home proper around 5:00 PM or so. Not long after that, I received a call from one of my cantors saying I'd put him down as cantor for the 5:15 PM Mass on Sunday, but had not actually asked him for it. Which means I didn't ask anyone for it. He could have caught it when I sent him the music, but he didn't, and I didn't, so there was no cantor. This is bad enough, but I also apparently double booked the 12:30 PM Mass last weekend, too. Needless to say, I'm not looking forward to going into work today and seeing whatever passive-aggressive note Ricardo will have left for me regarding this, since he will not be back in the office until Wednesday, and I will be off that day in return for working a full eight hours today. It sounds like I'm feeling no remorse for my mistake, but I am. The guilt from this, since I don't know how in the hell I could have screwed this up, kept me awake much later than I wanted to be, especially since I am sick. I'm expecting the worst in hopes that it will not be as bad as I think, but if it does end up being the worst, I'll handle it as best I can.

Definitely one of those days I wish I had a bathtub. Since I do not, it is back into bed with me.

We celebrated pie day with a bang: twenty people, seven (seven!!) pies, and some good times. Many thanks to Jamie, Alex, and Rob for making delicious pies, and to everyone who brought food, drink, games, and fun. I double booked myself, which made me tired and irritable, which I feel bad about. But good times were had, as far as I know, and I hope we'll get to continue on such a trend. Lowell and I are still discussing how we want the next round of gaming fun to go. There's talk of doing solely Axis and Allies for the next round, which would mean a considerably smaller party, naturally. We're still testing the waters, so to speak, so we'll see what happens.

It's Payroll Monday yet again, but thankfully, I'm all caught up. My last person submitted his info not five minutes ago, so I'll be able to submit all my stuff when I head over for lunch today. Booyah! Other than payroll, things are going along at a decent clip. I have one phone call to make to change a schedule, something I hate to do. I did warn the bride that there may need to be an adjustment, though, so hopefully she won't be too upset.

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That's about as far as I can go with the week.

I'm hoping the couple I babysit for gets back to me soon. I think I told them I was available this coming Saturday, but I forgot about a wedding shower for one of Lowell's cousins that I already RSVPed for. Not only that, but I also told Lowell's mother I would go with her, as we really only know each other out of all the people who are going to the shower. If I am babysitting, I need to talk to her about us caravaning as opposed to driving together, as it would be going out of either of our ways to drop one or the other off before I went downtown. I'm sure she'll be thrilled. She had a minor fit when I had to reschedule a dinner with the parents due to work, and I'm sure she'll have another one. If she understood how much I need the money, though, she wouldn't get so upset. Her answer to me if I were to say that I needed the money would be something along the lines of "Well, if you got a different job, you wouldn't have to worry so much." Which is true. However, here I am.

Half an hour until lunch. Booyah!