May 18, 2010

sick dream

after a successful mid-distance bike ride on saturday, i felt crummy the rest of the weekend. i thought it might be allergies because air quality was supposedly pretty nasty. but symptoms kept piling on and i was feeling quite bad by sunday late afternoon.

monday morning i dreamt dad took my temperature with an old-fangled mercury thermometer (don't tell - but i never traded mine in for a new electronic one), and the mercury steadily rose and rose and rose until it hit the very tip of the thermometer, and in anxiety i clenched my jaw and my teeth bit through the thermometer end leaving me fragments of broken glass and rivulets of mercury in my mouth. "that's it, i'm taking you to the hospital," dad said. i quickly swabbed at my tongue with a paper towel before we left for the ER.

i woke from the dream, and went to bathroom to take my temperature, careful not to tense any facial muscles. although it wasn't high, i did have an elevated temperature. that information coupled with my other symptoms and lack of vivacity, i made the decision to stay home from work and rest.

last night i slept almost 9.5 hours and, according to nate, sweat myself silly. but i did not have another sick dream, thankfully. what's worse than a dream that gives you no relief of your reality? like dreaming you are waking up late only to wake from that dream and find you are late. it's like being kicked before you even realized you were down to begin with.

it's bike to work week here in massachusetts. and by golly, i biked myself to work today. i'm now questioning the wisdom of my choice as my self-rated energy/overall wellbeing percentage started this morning at 87% and dropped to 65% by the time i got here. i've already attended to the most pressing tasks and am fighting the urge to put my head down. lunchtime may become naptime. a peaceful dream-free naptime, i hope.

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