Down with the Sickness

My dad's had a cold for the last few days, and what started this morning as a tickle at the back of my throat I prayed would turn out to be nothing. By the time I left work I was congested and warm. Being sick sucks, especially since I have to play in a parade tomorrow and Sunday respectively, quite possibly in the rain. Add to the equation a vacation day on Monday when I plan to go on a fun photo expedition, and my luck is running true to form. For now, I'm just drinking a lot of fluids.

Of course, any three-day weekend is always preceded by a late night or two. Tonight wouldn't have been so bad, had the printer at my office not decided to turn my last page into an accordion with a horrible, horrible sound. I rushed over, and saw how bad it was. I left a message for tech support, but surely even Phil the guy who usually works a little later was gone for the evening. I could have sent my job to one of the other printers in the office, but I could imagine the wrath of coworkers discovering the state this one was in, and I wasn't going to be responsible. It took some study, but I managed to disengage the fuser roll within which my paper was stuck, since an attempt to pull it free ripped it leaving quite a bit inaccessible within. For those not too familiar with the intricacies of printers, a fuser roll is the part that gets REALLY hot and fuses the paper to the toner and, when it wears out, fuses the paper to the printer apparently.

The more things I tried, the worse I made it. A moveable gear only served to push the paper further inside. There seemed no way to open the unit, and at one point a wheel broke off. I didn't have tweezers, and the scissors I was using just made the big jammed piece into smaller jammed pieces. The last coworker of the evening wished me luck as she departed, and I wondered if she'd still find me struggling on Monday morning. Fortunately, she ran into Phil on the way out and told him of my plight. I was relieved when he showed up, moreso when he pointed out that the fuser roll needed replacing and I'd only damaged a modular part that was coming off anyway. I still had to pick up some presents for my parents' upcoming anniversary, so on the way home I stopped by the local Target which has been undergoing both renovation and reorganization. Toys on the back wall are now on the right. Automotive moved from the right side of the store to the left side of the store, as did food. Men's clothing is a series of scattered racks interspersed by workers driving machines that are carving up the carpeting. As my cold symptoms worsened, the wagon I was pushing doubled as a device to keep me on my feet.

I feel a little better after dinner, but not well enough to post anything coherent or original tonight. In my feverish state, I'd be surprised tomorrow to find I'd written anything other than a string of nonsense words such as those found in the word verification field in the comments. So, I'll close tonight with a meme I've seen at John Nelson's, Wendy's, and Darrell's. There are fifteen questions, which I can only answer with song titles from one band's repertoire. Despite the title of tonight's post, I'm actually going to go with Alice in Chains:

1.) Are you a male or female? Man in the Box
2.) Describe yourself: Sickman
3.) How do you feel about yourself? What the Hell Have I?
4.) Describe your ex boyfriend / girlfriend: I Stay Away
5.) Describe your current boy / girl situation: I Can't Remember
6.) Describe your current location: Down in a Hole
7.) Describe where you want to be: Heaven Beside You
8.) Your best friend is: Get Born Again
9.) Your favorite color is: A Little Bitter
10.) You know that: God Am
11.) What's the weather like? Dam That River
12.) If your life was a TV show, what would it be called? Head Creeps
13.) What is life to you? We Die Young
14.) What is the best advice you have to give? Love, Hate, Love
15.) If you could change your name, what would you change it to? Dirt

I may have to try this again when I'm feeling healthier...