This past week was pretty horrible. Friday evening I could feel my immune system start to sputter. Saturday I woke up with a scratchy throat. By Saturday afternoon I had a dull headache. I was not looking forward to my near future. Early Sunday morning came. My throat felt as if I were swallowing barbed wire. There was pressure building at the center of my brain. At any moment it was it going to exceed its limit. My head was about to explode. Despite my dire circumstance I was unable to stay awake. I would continually drift off to sleep, but never for more than 45 minutes straight. Sunday afternoon I started to run a fever. I felt like total crap.
Barring an overnight miracle recovery, I was pretty sure I was going to miss work on Monday. My alarm went off Monday morning. I continued to sleep. I slept most of the a.m. I had been taking medicine every few hours. Monday afternoon was the first time the medicine actually felt like it was working. By the evening I was feeling better. I was confident I would make it to work on Tuesday.
I woke up earlier than I usual that next morning and I was feeling pretty good at first. I took a shower then set on the couch drinking some water. I was trying to evaluate whether I was really sick, or if I just wanted to stay home from work another day. As I sat there I leaned over and put my head on the pillow. Forty five minutes later I woke up, and I was late for work. I hurriedly got dressed and grabbed a couple oranges on my way out the door. It was a freezing cold morning. I was so glad for my garage as I watched the neighbor scraping his windows. It was cold outside, but I was sweating as I walked from my car to the building. This isn't a good sign.
I made it to my desk and started checking my email. I was still burning hot. My head felt like it was floating above my body. All of the sounds around me were muffled. I started to get sleepy. I struggled through the morning, but decided I was going home for the day around 11. I got home and slept another afternoon away. I woke up long enough to eat something for dinner, then I was asleep again.
Wednesday morning I awoke feeling legitimately better. I made it through the morning at work with no problems. The temperature had dropped even further over the last 24 hours and it was down in the teens now. That night we were going to see single digits. Nonetheless, my head was feeling much better. I smiled as I drove home for lunch. I got home and the house seemed chilly. Usually when you are out in the cold it feels really warm and cozy to step into a house. I looked at our thermostat. Sure enough, the temp was down into the 50's. My good mood vanished as I realized our furnace had quit working on the coldest day of the year thus far. I went into the attic and stared at my furnace in futility. I have no clue what I am doing. I start to take off the panel, but decided it would be prove to be a waste of time. I spent part of the afternoon calling HVAC places, finally finding one that could make it out that same day.... probably. My health continued to improve but my mood stayed sour.
I got home and lit the fireplace. I turned on our space heaters. I plugged in the Christmas lights. In no time the house was feeling warm again. My spirits lifted along with the temperature. I was almost looking forward to spending an evening with the fire going. We would be fine. Then the van pulled up to the house. The squatty old man had the furnace running within 10 minutes. He then proceeded to spend the next hour and fifteen minutes raping me in our attic. I am not sure what he accomplished in that last hour, but when he left I handed over a check for almost 200 bucks. Shit! That is the price of ignorance. This will not be the last time I pay it.
Thursday morning I awoke to a warm house and a clear head. I could breath. I could talk normally. I was back.
-deric
