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Five things to do when you get sick

Filed under Note to Self by Amanda on June 14, 2010 at 8:00 am {no comments}

I’m sick. I hate being sick. Though, thinking about it, I’m not sure anyone really enjoys being sick, so maybe it goes without saying that I hate it.

When you get sick there are certain things that help speed along the recovery process.

Assemble the right combination of consumer goods. If you are lucky, you have someone in your life that likes or loves you enough to fetch these things for you, if not…. You’ll have to venture out into public on your own. You need supplies for sickness. Gather some combination of the following:

Sudafed

Cough drops

NyQuil/DayQuil

Puffs PLUS with ALOE (this is important, your nose will thank you)

Chicken soup/crackers/supplies for grilled cheese

Juice/Gatorade/Tea/Sprite

Vitamins

Lysol

Sleep. Lots of restful sleep and lounging. Let your immune system fight off whatever you’re sick with. This is a fantastic excuse to be abnormally lazy. Enjoy it.

Fluids. Drink a ton of water. When you can’t drink anymore water, have some Green Tea or Gatorade or Juice, and then go back to water. I won’t recommend this often, but stay away from caffeine. No coffee, or brown soda. This is the worst advice ever. But you should still follow it.

Stay home from work. Not only will you feel better, but you’ll save your co-workers from being infected with suffering. Most people don’t follow this one. For some reason, even people with plenty of paid sick days, still show up at work when they’re miserable. Its ridiculous. I do it. Whats worse is that a lot of companies don’t give sick time to their employees. So unless you have a money cushion,( and lets face it, most of us don’t) you cant afford to lose 8+ hours from your paycheck.

Watch a movie. After 12-15 hours of a NyQuil coma, sometimes you get bored. It’s best to pop in a movie you’ve seen a million times. Something you can quote. Something you don’t have to pay much attention to, so if you are inclined, you can drift off to sleep again without feeling you’re missing something. For me the list would be, Princess Bride, Chipmunk Adventure, Oceans 11, or Lord of the Rings. You might think Star Wars would make that list, but no. Star Wars makes me too excited.

Hopefully, your cold/flu/whatever passes quickly and you can get back to your normal life. After days of being sacked out on your couch its easy to go insane with stir craziness. Good luck.

What is your “sick day” routine? What is missing from my list that you think is essential?

(Photo by: by seantoyer)

Infect others with joy: How to fight your boss

Filed under Note to Self by Amanda on June 3, 2010 at 8:00 am {3 comments}

I have what you might call a toxic boss. She has days when she’s fine, and she has days when she’s downright vicious. Yesterday, during our morning meeting it became clear to me that we were all going to have a very bad day. The mood was set. Anger was the dish we were to eat.

Usually, when I realize she’s in a bad mood, I respond by hiding, keeping my head down, avoiding her at all costs, and being as quiet as possible. I cling to the hope that, if she can’t hear or see me, she might forget I’m there.

Yesterday I tried an experiment. I decided I would not let her ruin my day. Instead of her infecting me with her bad day, I would infect her with my good day. And so we fought.

I went to work armed with 4 cups of coffee and this little gem….

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Yeah, that’s The Bible.

Romans 12:21 for those of you who might be following along.

My boss isn’t really what I’d describe as evil. I’m fairly hopeful that she doesn’t have the minions of darkness carrying out her bidding.

I used that verse as my personal mantra all day. It’s similar to “kill em with kindness,” or “you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.” I kept a caffeinated bounce in my step and a bright smile on my face. I dismissed her comments. When she spoke to me in a critical way I responded with smiles, laughter, and jokes.

By the end of our first conversation she was laughing with me. By lunch time she was chatting with me and all the hints of the morning’s unpleasantness were forgotten.

Coffee and Jesus helped me fight my boss!

Don’t let a negative person infect you and ruin your day. Be stronger than they are. Fight them off with happiness. Overcome a lousy attitude with a good one.

I am certain that there will be days that my boss is more angry than I am happy. She will still win some, but I’m still going to try.

Fight the good fight! Has this technique worked for you? Will you try it?

(Photo by: The fabulous Ash Makemson who insists this cat is yawning and not angry.)

Does anyone really like change?

Filed under Note to Self by Amanda on May 27, 2010 at 8:00 am {no comments}

I hate big decisions. I really really do. A decision means that something is going to be left behind. Whichever alternative you don’t pick is going to remain an abandoned possibility. A road never traveled. A future self you will never be.

I always wonder if the other choice would have been a better one.

Despite the fact that I moved 1000 miles from home on what boiled down to a whim, I am terrified by the idea of change. Whenever I’m faced with a life altering choice I find myself frozen in indecision. The move was a fluke.

When you’re young choices are simple: peanut butter and jelly or grilled cheese, play outside or build a fort out of blankets. As you get older choices have more meaning. The consequences spiral out of control into your future. Every new choice has wide reaching impact on your future and who you will be. Where will you work, or live? Will you go to school? Where? What will you study? Who will you date and be friends with?

There are no easy answers. No one makes choices for you, and if they do, they’re frequently the wrong ones. The ridiculous thing that I think most of us forget is that change is necessary. If there is any aspect of your life that you are dissatisfied with then the only way to improve it is with conscious decisions and change.

We don’t have the luxury of a time machine or a crystal ball. So it is usually impossible to see what effect something will have on your life. But if we knew the outcome to everything where would be the fun?

So….. should I take a pointless transfer at work?

(photo by alex-s)