I guess this was the logical conclusion to running on nothing but junk food and caffeine for several days on end, working open to close four days in a row. I wasn’t supposed to go back in until two this afternoon, but when I woke up this morning, I went from a slight bit of sneezing to full on headache, fatigue, dizziness, stuffy nose and drainage.

At least I gave my co-workers a chance to find my replacement, though they almost didn’t. When I felt the fog clear after a good hot shower, I figured maybe just take some good sinus stuff and move on, just wear gloves or something all day and not touch anyone. Nope–I got more than I bargained for: a full day off tomorrow, too.

I’m glad for that–my body finally hit the brakes for me and said “nope, not today.” It just sucks that I feel so tired and headachy that I can’t get anything done at home while I’m here.

It’s like a minor migraine, but with more kleenex and Ramen soup.

And the phone calls.

We’ve trained a few people to do some extra things, but they haven’t had the chance to do it on their own yet. I lost count the number of phone calls that came to check and clarify some procedure or something. At least I wasn’t that far gone I gave bad advice (and I managed a good sized nap before the calls started).

Tired as I was, I’m still glad they called me so we’re all on the same page in case there was a problem or something we missed in training. As time went by, the confidence grew until there were no more phone calls. So, I started feeling better. I was an inch away from saying “screw it” and going into the office before they found someone to take over.

But considering how much the fogginess is persisting, I’m glad they found someone, even if it’s not what I wanted even after a crazy week like this.

It’s just the timeless lesson that never sticks with me very long: take a break from the job before it breaks you. More than that, when I get put on my rear like this, it means that even while I’m surrounded by the things on my to-do list, staring me in the face, I’m in no position to do much about them. You’d think I’d be all “oh, boy, I can finally get things done at home.”

Nope. And the weather is lovely outside these past two days. That’s the insult. Wet and muddy still, but some basic cleaning and shoveling work can still be done. No way that can happen.

And other than some dishes and laundry, I haven’t had much energy for any more cleaning.

At least I’m mostly sure it’s not strep throat or the flu, like everyone else was getting this week. I think it’s just a quick cold or sinusitis, created partly by bad diet, stress, and the ever-changing temperatures and weather.

It was warm yesterday morning, then getting crazy cold by late afternoon with the wind. Chilly this morning, and hit the mid 60s by about 2 pm. My headache could almost feel the temperature rise and drop all day. Ugh.

One of my big plans was to go out to the gym and move some stuff around, re-organize and get back on the elliptical for a while. I have a lot to do out there, but nope.

It just stinks when your body fails you during the worst times. But it can’t be helped–when you need a break, even when you’re working full stretches, you’ve gotta find that de-stressing element, even if it’s short.

When I had an actual long gap between shifts Wednesday, I didn’t spend it reading a book or listening to good music while I went to eat. I brought my bills and checkbook with me to work on that, and then shopping for necessities because it was supposed to rain later that night and I didn’t wanna be out in traffic.

That wasn’t very smart. Those things needed to be done, but getting it done in smaller chunks would have been better so I could build in some relaxation.

Well, perhaps I can learn from this, sleep on it and figure out better ways to decompress in short bursts. The tricky part is even when I’m not at work, I keep thinking about work and things I didn’t get done, or people I need to talk to.

That’s going to be my major goal for the rest of the month: develop a work-life balance. Nothing else is going to help my health effectively until I’ve gotten that taken care of.

But for now, another cup of tea, some American Greed episodes, and cuddling with the dogs is in order.