Got Flu?

Ick!!!!! Yeah that sums it up. Well, all my type "A" dedication to my monster project and working and pulling Monday through Saturday for 60 hours/week for the last 2 weeks is coming steadily to an end. And it's in no small part to my succumbing to the plague that is ripping through my office. People have been in and out of work and have been falling victim to the good old flu. I thought I'd make it through the season unscathed. I do take precautions. I get the flu shot, I try to not touch anything Mr. or Mrs. McPlague touch, and I even do the paper towel on doorknobs routine (yeah I know, very anal retentive). And even after all that it was all for naught! To make a long story short, last night I had a great case of the chills followed by my body aching from head to toe. I do not think that there was a good square inch of me that did not hurt. Today I thought I was better and back to my JP self. No chills, no aches, but now my "guts" have a lot of activity. I'm not one to go into details (and you do not need to hear about them), so let's just say I am in full system shutdown for now due to DEFCON4 protocols.

So the way I figure it, my body is telling me I need a rest. So I am listening. The thought did occur to me to just suck it up and go in tomorrow, for about 20 seconds....=) So I made the call into work about 5 minutes ago and said, "Hey boss, JP here, I am not going to be in tomorrow. My guts feel like they have been run over by a semi truck and then thrown around by a thresher...you get the idea. Anyhow, I won't be in tomorrow and hopefully I'll be back on Tuesday."

So it just dawned on my I can sleep in tomorrow as long as I want. I'm going to mimic my dog and snuggle in tomorrow:



SCORE!! JP OUT!!

Oyasumi Nasai...

Oyasumi Nasai is Japanese for "Good Night...." As in good night I'm going to bed now. I am freakin' tired! Why am I tired? I think I may know. Mind you my tired is not really a physical tiredness either. I am mentally exhausted to a point where my perceptions of reality start to change. That is the reality that is JP. Here's my Monday - Friday schedule......


6:30AM -- Alarm goes off; JP hits snooze

6:45AM -- JP rockets out of bed

7:00AM -- JP kisses Sharkey goodbye, goes downstairs, lets the Maggie Dog out, puts on a pot of coffee and prepares either toast, bagel, or a Delight's breakfast sandwich

7:20AM -- JP leaves house and drives to work

8:00AM -- JP gets to work

8:45AM-
11:00AM -- JP sits in meetings

12:00PM-
12:30PM -- JP runs out to grab lunch to bring back to eat at desk (yes I AM that BUSY)

12:30PM-
7:00PM -- JP does project work, even more project work, and on top of that if that were not enough, even more project work

7:20PM -- JP arrives home (notice it takes 1/2 the time to get home at this time)

7:45PM-
10:45PM -- JP tries to relax, make dinner, spend quality time with Sharkey and play with Maggie a bit.

11:00PM -- JP showers and goes to bed.

This is my routine. It does not vary. It has been the same for the past 2 weeks. I am living Groundhog Day. I sometimes feel like I am living outside of my body watching JP go through the motions, if that makes sense. Maybe it does not. But again I am tired and I'm definitely not operating a full JP efficiency.

But I realize that this too shall pass. I just need to hang in there for a couple more weeks. Yeah, that's it. Two weeks. 14 days. 336 hours. There have been good things too. Like.........

My Sharkey is now, officially 6 years cancer free. She had a CT scan last Friday and it was GOOD... And she is b-e-a-utiful!!

Next weekend is a 3 day weekend because of Easter (THANK YOU JESUS!!!!!). And so I get a chance to rest. Sleep in... Play Nintendo... Watch a long movie.... Go to the golf driving range.... Maybe I'll be able to live in my body instead of feeling like I am in a perpetual out of body experience.

I am working out again, and this has helped a TON with the physical energy and stamina during the day.

Although I average 11 hours a day, have also been working Saturdays, and am exhausted, I LOVE what I am doing. I am in the ZONE. I am making a difference, solving issues, and working on what is most definitely the most complex project ever. It is AWESOME!!!

So I say to all of you OYASUMI NASAI

--JP OOOOOOOOOUUUUUUTTTTTTTTTTT........ zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz