vw, speaking as a teacher who sometimes has to cover for colleagues: when you're sick, you're sick.

If you were taking time off because you were hungover, or you couldn't be arsed going in - okay, then guilt would be fair enough.

But you're SICK, woman! Don't waste energy on feeling guilty - concentrate your energies on taking care of yourself, getting back your strength and health, and then you can get back into the game.

Life happens.

(Hell, one of my [Australian] colleagues is taking Thursday off work [with permission], because her [Danish] boyfriend has invited her along with him on a cruise with the [Australian] princess of Denmark. Whom he's doing some work thing for. And we're totally 'Go for it, girl!' because - invitation to hang with royalty!)

Dear Cow-irker:

Sending out a notice that a meeting will start at 8:00am when it actually starts at 9:30 is an error and we all make them. However, it's not cute. Don't giggle about it - I dragged myself in an hour earlier than usual to be able to prep for it, as did a number of other peopel. Apologize for the error, but don't pull the girlish giggles and "aren't I cute" act. There isn't enough coffee in the world.

no love,

me

However, this DOES make me giggle.

{{{vw}}} You're sick. Get some rest. And I believe I told you yesterday that there should be no beating yourself up.

TCG and I had a stupid little fight last night, and we're still fighting. I didn't sleep, and I feel awful.

I'm 31; I usually either feel 90 or 20. My mechanic last week argued with me about my age because he assumed I was 20.

Age: I will be 35 in August. For some reason, this makes me gulp. I'm not sure why. I LOVED turning 30 and I've always been a firm believer that like wine and cheese, I have a smoky flavor and am full of fat I improve with age.

But 35 is just sitting there. Like a something that just sits there, waiting for you to get near and then it pokes you with a big stick. Hard.

Heh. I said stick and hard. Heh heh heh.

t is actually 12 yo boy

In other WTF news, oh dear.

Applebee's? REALLY? I...

No, no, it makes total sense. Have you ever been to an Applebees? You can totally feel your life force draining away. At least now we know why.

I saw that in the paper yesterday and just sort of boggled.

I have an energy deficiency too. I call it "my job".

ION, 37, soon to be 38, usually feel early 30s

And this from last night couldn't go unremarked:

Considering that I have a tendancy to swear like a navvy with PMS most of the time, it's an ongoing source of amusement to me that between 8.15 and 3pm Monday to Friday, I'm Little Miss Propriety.

I don't think I ever said it, Fay, but when you first announced you were going into teaching, I was almost perfectly split between "OMG MISS FAY WILL BE THE BEST TEACHER EVER!" and "... you mean, the kind with CHILDREN?" And, let's make it clear, this was not a bad thing in my twisted head.

The caffeine dependency is probably a worrisome thing when you find yourself laying down the strict guideline of "You've had your two cups of coffee already, now you have to wait until at least nine AM to crack open the first Diet Coke of the day."

Oy.

"... you mean, the kind with CHILDREN?"

This tickles me no end for some reason. I wish my kids had a Miss Fay teacher.

"what if we need help on a weekend?".

"My independent consulting fee starts at $200 per hour for x and y. There are additional fees for z, and a two hour minimum."

Feel better, vw.