Sick Day

I didn’t realize how widely the current common cold at VIU had spread until sitting in my genre fiction writing class on Tuesday. There were seats to spare in the usually cramped classroom, and who would willingly forgo a three hour discussion on writing science fiction? (though I could be biased on that one) Germs must have been the culprit!

I tend to think that I’m going to be immune to these things. I get colds, but I never miss classes for such silly little things! I was definitely sick on Monday, but plowed through. I had a paper due and I had to go to work. It’s February, which is basically the poorest month of the year for many students, such as myself. (I’ve just handed over my bank account to pay tuition, so missing work is not an option!) I was also sick on Tuesday, but I was certainly better than on Monday, and there was absolutely no chance that I would miss the science fiction class. Restraints would have been required.

I woke up on Wednesday feeling pretty crap, the cold had inevitably caught up and overtaken me, so I had to call it a sick day from school. I don’t do sick days, the last time I missed a class was November 2008, though I’ve been lucky this year. This week has been the first real cold I’ve had since last summer- which I figure is a pretty awesome run!

We’re told to stay home and get healthy when we feel like crap, but easier said then done. At least for me. Taking a day off school seems criminal! I have this eternal fear that on the one day I’m sick, I’ll miss some piece of information instrumental for one of my final exams, causing me to eventually crash and burn on the page, my exam booklet exploding, a metaphorical fireball....

I also don’t like to miss out.

But it was nice, to get my rest and recover, lie back on the couch and watch fifteen hours of Olympics and Dexter (alright, possibly a bit excessive). Snack on oranges and raisin toast in between the coughs, sneezes, and sniffles, and eventually face an impending assignment. (admittedly, in front of a hockey game) The important thing is that I slowed down, and got my rest.

Perhaps taking a sick day isn’t such a crime after all, and hopefully my exams won’t explode.

Happy Reading Break
Kaitlyn