Unfamiliar Territory

Several things combined together to knock me off kilter just a little bit tonight. I woke up feeling kind of stuffy and sinusy and had a bit of a headache. I really though about calling in sick but I had looked at the chrono the night before and knew how short we were on shift already.

And you know how guilty I feel when someone else gets jerked around or hurt when they get put in my spot. Me and my neuroses go back a long ways. At any rate, I don't call in unless I'm at death's doorstep.

I try not to hang out there much. Depressing place. Dusty as all get out.

At any rate, by the time I got ready and actually drove to work, I felt considerably worse. It may have been the change in elevation. After all, Raccoon City is a whopping 145 feet higher than Leadbibleton, where I live. That kind of change in pressure isn't good for your sinuses. My headache had settled in behind my right eyeball, set up housekeeping, ordered pizzas and invited it's friends over to poke long needles into my brain.

And everybody I encountered looked at me and said "Gee Rev! You look like hell!"

That kind of thing always works to make you feel so much better.

I felt about as perky and summer fresh as a tattered gym sock abandoned in a drainage ditch somewhere in rural coal mining country.

But I digress.

They also had me in Brother D's spot, which was very strange. The man is usually healthy as an ox and almost never calls in sick. Yet he'd been home sick all week. I think it had been quite some time since I had ever had to work that spot.

His post is exactly opposite of mine on Wednesdays. On that day I do Comm room, p-car, comm room. He does p-car, comm room, p-car. I know it doesn't sound like there's all that much difference, but there was just enough to throw me off. For one, I wasn't used to having to go get a shotgun and put it in the car and load it. When brother D is there, it's already in the car and I just check to see if it's loaded. Walking through the front lobby with a shotgun was a very strange feeling.

And walking back in with it at the end of shift was just as strange. I got some funny looks. I wondered if I looked more disgruntled than sick.

I also forgot that I was supposed to go get gas in the p-car at some point during the evening. Once again, Brother D always takes care of that and I don't have to mess with it. He likes to go down and chat with the maintenance guy while he's fueling up.

It wasn't until I was halfway across the parking lot to go home that I remembered that. But I only used 1/8th of a tank so it should be fine. If anybody even notices I'll get razzed, but little more than that.

The whole night was just far enough off of my usual routine that I felt like...

Like when you tip back in a chair and almost fall over but catch yourself at the last second.

Just like that. Weird and disconcerting and I'm glad it's over.

Now I can be sick and miserable in my own bed. Huzzah.

A quick lineup for the weekend:
Saturday- Festival Of Latest Novelties, Responsible Dog Ownership Day, Fish Amnesty Day and Punctuation Day.
Sunday- National Comic Book Day and National One-Hit Wonder Day
Monday- National Good Neighbor Day and National Pancake Day.

Celebrate! Just do it quietly, okay? I still have a headache.