*whine*

So I'm sick.

I haven't been sick in a long time, I think. It's probably just a cold, but I just feel...blah. With maybe 30% of my typical energy level, and a sore throat and stuffy nose. And I need to be better by next Friday when I get to see an old college friend for the first time in years.

I think I can, I think I can.

Anyway, I have a theory on why I'm sick. Wanna hear it?

Well, you could assume that I have the same cold Zoe has, since she woke up with a goopy nose yesterday, and I've been covered in her boogers ever since. But no. I would much rather assume that it's the fault of the girl at work who, when I saw her on Thursday and said, "How's it going?" replied with, "Sick." And then she proceeded to close-talk me for five minutes. IN THE BATHROOM! I couldn't escape!

Sigh.

So this brings up an interesting point, right? Which is...why was she at work if she felt bad enough that her answer to a generic question was to fuss about being sick for five minutes? All that does is spread around germs, and I know this because I was once very guilty of being Typhoid Leah and spreading bronchitis around my general cube area because I refused to stay home...all while getting very little accomplished office-wise.

But why do we all do this?

It's because our system here in the United States values money over people, and no one with a family has enough vacation or sick time to really be able to take care of themselves for an entire year.

Think about it. I have less than eight sick days per year (my company offers eight but my part-time status means I only get 80% of my time off). That is NOT enough to take off every time Zoe is sick or I am sick. So Zoe goes to school with the sniffles, and I go to work when I don't feel well, just to conserve my remaining vacation time.

It's weird to me, right? Because, that one time, I really did take out almost my entire team....somebody should have sent me home. But they didn't, and I was just another part of the problem instead of the solution.

Anyway, that's my rant about the American workplace...

And now that it's over, let me just say that my troubles pale to ghost-like colors in comparison to what people in Japan and all over the Pacific are dealing with today, and will continue to deal with in the foreseeable future. My REAL thoughts are with them all, hoping for the best for everyone who was touched by the earthquake and tsunami.