(working) life is not so simple, Ivy...

Was down with stomach flu the whole of last week... Some virus has been making the rounds lately (striking Chicago people, relatives, and my neighbour's auntie's son), but this was my first serious attack I think. It just left me tired and nauseated all the time, and til now the sight of seafood makes me want to hurl it back into the ocean =(

It doesn't help that I seldom look or sound very ill, so I didn't dare call my postdoc to tell him I was ill. Instead I SMS-ed him "Hi _____, I'm sorry I won't be coming into the lab today as I'm down with stomach flu" and fret about him suspecting I was skiving off work. Thank God the simple reply "Ok take care" came back... (My postdoc is really such a sweetie. He's been incredibly patient this past month while I fumble around learning how to cast gels and develop membranes and generally muck up his projects.)

Really miss school days when being sick simply meant a welcome break from school (without having to worry about looking like a skiver, or getting someone to do urgent work for you - and no, I wasn't one of those kids who have parents who'll write excuse letters just to get me out of a couple classes I didn't like)... with work it seems there are real deadlines (ones you can't siam by, say, showing the teacher a DIY-scratched floppy disk), and more pressure to deliver. I never used to feel it when school experiments went awry, but now, when attempted sequence mutations don't work or membranes don't show up the proteins you want, you sense your postdoc's disappointment, know it's a full day's work gone down the drain.

Anyway, stomach flu also comes with its perks, because as a friend shockingly suggested, "it's good for dieting". Having only been able to stomach porridge and bread for the past week I can concur... but give me nausea-free dinner outings with friends any day! I'm so ready.