I headed in “to work” this morning at about 6:45… just a quick 45-minute “commute” to the airport. Got checked in, no bags, and managed to start my day off right by getting upgraded to First Class. THAT made the trip out much more managable.

Landed, caught a cab, got shafted by the cabbie (as near as I can tell $45 from O’Hare to Schaumberg airport is “shafted” when the meter clearly reads $27 + $3.00 in tolls), and rolled on in to the hotel to present.

Before I presented, a guy whose name I forget (BAD Howard) saw the Schlock card affixed to my looks-like-all-other-Novell-issue-laptops-otherwise laptop, and said “wait a minute… YOU do Schlock Mercenary? I’ve been reading that for YEARS now and never put two-and-two together.”

As stated before, I have a policy: Schlock fans at Novell events get free sketches. I whipped out a Schlock for him, complete with actual ink and erasure-of-construction-lines, and then got started.

(someday this policy is going to be unmanagable, because there will be so many Schlock fans I won’t be able to keep up. On that day I should be able to retire the policy by not needing to work for Novell anymore, but I’m not holding my breath.)

I did my schtick. I’ve done better, I’ve done worse. This was a very interactive presentation, and that’s a good thing. I got lots of good feedback for engineering. I ran a few minutes over, and then made my escape to a waiting cab, which only cost me $32 (including the tip) to get me back to the airport.

I didn’t get the First Class upgrade on the way back. Oh well. Three hours of sitting and reading, mulling over my presentation, and how to overhaul it for my session in Waltham in two weeks…

The good news is that about halfway through the flight home I realized I was better. No more “malaise.” To prove it to myself I bounded up the stairs in the SLC airport parking garage. I was a little out-of-breath, and my legs were just starting to gripe, but that’s not “malaise.” That’s “fat guy needs more exercise.”

I got home at 8:00pm sharp. In more than just the literal “home” sense, it’s good to be back.

Went to the doctor. He said that the cough didn’t sound bacterial (not wet enough), my O2 levels were fine, BP 113/73, temperature a little bit subnormal, and there was only the barest touch of a wheeze in my breathing.

Okay, so I’m not having heart troubles, pulmonary embolisms, pneumonia, or anything else serious

“Malaise.” That’s his diagnosis. More rest, lots of fluids, and vitamins.

I’m not a guy who WANTS to be sick, nor do I WANT to have a pile of antibiotics or other otics/istamines/oids/whatevers packed into me. I just want to not get light-headed after a flight of stairs, and to sleep through the night. “Malaise” sounds WAAAY too much like “hypochondria” for my tastes.

*sigh*

I’ll go to bed on time. I’ll drink lots of fluids. I’ll take my vitamins. And at 8:40am I’m flying to Chicago for a day-trip presentation (6.5 hours in the air, .9 hours in taxis, 1.6 hours commuting to the airport, all for 90 minutes of my “schtick”) and by gum, I’m going to FEEL GOOD DOING IT.

–Howard

I don’t know WHAT is wrong with me today, but I’m loopy.

A year or so ago I had a mild anaphylactic reaction to my allergy shots, and they gave me a shot of ephedrine to pull me out of it. I feel today like I felt after getting that shot — loopy, shaky, and perpetually tired.

This morning I was afraid to drive myself to work, I was so loopy, so I called in sick for the AM, and took a nap. I was out for almost 90 minutes, and when I came to I was still tired, but less loopy. I got myself into the office just fine, got a couple of emails answered, and then lay down on the floor of my office for another hour. Gah!

All I can figure is that the store-brand “nyquil” I took last night at 11:00pm is not settling well with me. There aren’t any other medications in my system. But that stuff shouldn’t still be around 15 hours later — here it is 2:00pm, and I’m STILL tired and loopy.

The good news is I’m pretty sure I’m going to be okay driving myself HOME.

–Howard

Yesterday I took Gleek to Blockbuster video. I’ll spare you the blow-by-blow, and just let you know that she picked “Rainbow Brite: Horse of a Different Color” all by herself. None of my kids had ever seen this particular sappy, sweet, horrid, 80’s-era cartoon. Naturally, they’re all quite taken with it.

This morning Sandra drove halfway to Pocatello to swap Howler for Kiki. Upon arriving home three hours later, Gleek ran downstairs and popped in the video. I’ve caught bits of it, and the video saccharine is almost instantly carcinogenic with just a single exposure.

On my way back downstairs to pencil I caught the intro. “… She lives far away in Rainbow-land …”

Ugh. Not far enough.

–Howard