Me? Sick?

I went to work yesterday. Bad mistake.

Not that I don't like what I do. I do. I love my work. It makes me feel good to know that my research and my words can have such far-reaching impact. I love to write because it never really feels like work. I love looking back at what I've created - it always looks and sounds so cool. I thoroughly enjoy working with people who are tack-sharp smart and funny, too.

But I still should have stayed home yesterday. I was still sick.

The problem was my own stupidity. After spending Monday and Tuesday at home to work the nasty bug out of my system, cabin fever had set in. I got it into my head when I tucked in on Tuesday that I absolutely had to get back to work. Otherwise, things wouldn't get done and that would be bad.

Right.

So I loaded up the bike in the morning and started the long, slow pedal toward my downtown office. I deliberately kept the speed down to avoid stressing myself. It didn't do any good: my heart was racing by the third block despite the fact that I was doing a grand 15 km/h. Any slower and I would have lost my balance and fallen.

But stubborn, silly person that I am, I kept riding. Had to get to work...

At the morning meeting, a colleague asked me if I was flushed because of the ride or because I was still sick. Uh oh.

Other colleagues kept asking me if I was OK, offering me rides home, tapping my shoulder to make sure I was still on this earthly plane. By mid-morning, I was really lagging. But I had things to do, people to meet, you know, stuff.

I popped some pills (this is notable, because I never take meds. I'm one of those stupid souls who prefers to tough it out) to ease the growing pain and pushed through the backlog of work.

I left at the end of the day and rode home, kicking myself for being such a doof. By the time I got home, I knew the fever was back. The look on my wife's face as she opened the front door said it all: tsk tsk.

So after a sleepless, congested night, I ended up back at home today. Lesson learned: next time, I'll stay home the extra day. No sense trying to be a hero, right?

Your turn: What do you do when you're sick? Do you go into work anyway?