It Lives!

It's hard to describe how frustrating the last two weeks have been.

I normally have a lot of energy, as my previous tendency to post at all hours of the day and night demonstrates. Over the years I've found myself sleeping less and less not because I have any problems sleeping, but because I always feel refreshed and recharged after only a few hours of sleep. What that means in practice is that I take a long nap during the afternoon, zoom around until midnight, and then sleep until three or four in the morning before I pop up and start the whole cycle over again. That kind of schedule gives me the time to support a lot of hobbies and interests, including this blog.

Unfortunately, it also seems to have worn down my body's natural defenses. I've been knocked out by the flu before, but this recent bout is the first time I literally haven't been able to get out of bed. Which is all the more surprising considering this year's strain isn't supposed to be particularly virulent, at least according to the seasonal evaluations. Less than 24 hours after I started having a few sniffles I was curled up in my bed, vomiting, and alternately shivering and sweltering with a fever that rose into the triple digits. The worse part, at least to me, was learning firsthand just what a fever dream is- an almost hallucinatory state of mind caused by the physical strain an illness places on your brain.

How bad was it? I don't remember actually seeing things, but my significant other says I started having conversations with people that weren't there while I was asleep. Long, detailed conversations about things as diverse as making bricks in Babylon and...uh...the creature trapped inside the Pentagon. You know, the monstrous beast imprisoned by the mystic wards inscribed inside all five sides of the building.

Yeah, it was that freaky. I have some pretty esoteric interests, but there's a big difference between reading goofiness like that for entertainment and actually believing it. That's when the significant other started to get a little scared.

To make a long story short, I'm still under strict orders from my doctor to take it easy and get some rest. "Rest" being defined as "start sleeping a normal eight hours and give your body time to heal or I'm going to have you forcibly tranquilized, you stupid git". See what I have to put up with? I'd kill the heartless bastard, but that would make my sister-in-law a widow and produce some very uncomfortable silences at our family get-togethers. Worse than that, my significant other now feels empowered to run the household however she sees fit. Which is why she feels she can threaten me with physical violence if I don't come back to bed right now.

Once this is over there's gonna be a reckoning 'round here, my friends. Mark my words.