I prefer not to be the sauté

Wow.  I'm glad I'm not, like, REALLY sick.  Being just a little sick is annoying enough.

I just spent the whole day feeling a wee bit chilly, until suddenly I was sweating and I had to take most of my clothing off.  Hello, fever!  It's been a while. Don't get comfortable.

So now I need to stop drinking hot drinks (of which I have so far consumed ~80 oz) and switch to cold drinks.  Until I get cold again.

I tell you what, though, those -Quil products work very well.  I have Dayquil, and then I feel fuzzy but otherwise reasonably well for a couple of hours.  I can definitely tell when it wears off, because I turn into a miserable, whiny brat immediately.  And what's worse is I finally cleaned us out of Christmas chocolate, so now I'm a whiny brat in chocolate withdrawal.  (PS please don't get me more chocolate.  There's no point in delaying the inevitable.)

I hope to drive to work tomorrow for at least a little while.  I don't know if I'm contagious, but as long as I'm not spewing fluids the coworkers should be safe.  So as long as I have access to Dayquil, it's all good.

Last night I tried to go to sleep but I was SO HOT.  Probably feverish.  It was like nine bajillion degrees below comfortable out, and I was there on the bed with the fan blowing on my bare skin.  I felt like I was being sauteed.  Finally I decided I didn't care if it had been enough hours since my last dose of Nyquil, I was having more.  And voila!  Sleep.

Despite my current health impaired state, I have Springer Fever pretty bad.  I need to get together with DeLee to plan out our backpacking trips for this year.  A weekend in the woods is a good vaccination against Springer Fever.  You have to repeat the procedure every month or so, but it works.

My calendar is all set

This evening after work I pulled out my (old fashioned, paper) calendar and starting writing things in.  Christmas (at my parents' house), Trail Days, a SOBO section hike from Katahdin, and DragonCon (not for me).  And then I went to the months of March through November and I wrote in at least one overnight of backpacking for every month.  Some months have three day weekends for me, so I can get in two or three nights. 

Yay for backpacking!

I expect I'll be renewing my familiarity with the circuit hikes of central and northern Shenandoah.  That's about as far as I can drive without wasting all my time in a car.  It's been a couple of years so I'm hazy on some of the details, which is nice.  I'd just as soon not do routes I have memorized.

My plans are by  no means set in stone, but just having things on the calendar makes them more likely to happen.  If for some reason I skip a trip, I'll at least have that luxurious feeling of having missed a planned activity.  I like playing hooky even when it's from my own plans.

Too bad we don't live closer to the Smokies, I would *love* to explore more there.  I'd like to do the AT there in good weather, for that matter.  But there are tons of other trails in the park.  Maybe someday.

Now I just need it to warm up and dry out a little.  And I need to ditch the sore throat I picked up this week.  Ah, spring.  Still so far away.  You'll be very welcome when you finally arrive.

Get me out of here!

I'm at a technical conference today. I'm surrounded by strangers, mostly men. There are a few women at most of the booths, trying to catch my eye so they can make a sale. Unfortunately I have no budget. I'm here for information only. 

I am interested in the talks or I wouldn't have come, but being in this environment is making a large, loud part of my brain scream "Do not want!". Especially after reading on facebook that a hiker friend only has 18 weeks to go until his thruhike starts. I have Springer Fever and I have it bad. 

It is just a hair from unbearable that I won't be thruhiking again. I have a husband, pets, a home,  and a job. Those things, in that order, keep me home. Out of love, mind you. But nevertheless home. 

Maybe I need therapy?  At the moment I want to leave more than I want my next meal.