I’m really questioning the wisdom of coming in to work today.

I’m feeling crappier today than I did yesterday.  My lungs are all congested…  As are my sinuses…  And my voice sounds awful.

I’ve taken some medicine which will hopefully alleviate some of those symptoms…  But I’m thinking I’d probably be better off with a day or so of rest.

I seem to have come down with some kind of illness.

I’ve been feeling kind of under the weather since Wednesday or so, but I didn’t think too much about it.  I’ve been waking up earlier, and working long days, and my diet has changed – so there were plenty of reasons I might not feel quite right.

Last night, though, it just hit me like a ton of bricks.

I was OK throughout the day…  Felt unwell, but not horrible.  We went out to dinner, did some shopping afterwards, and I was feeling progressively worse.  We got home, and I just crashed.

My head feels fuzzy and distant.  My throat hurts like hell whenever I swallow.  My eyes keep leaking and there’s horrific sinus pressure.  My lungs feel tight and stuffy.

The end result of all this is that I feel like crap.

I’m just glad I don’t have to be at work today.  Maybe I can actually get some rest and feel like a human again by Monday.

We recently discovered that one of our local theaters does “Throwback Thursdays” and shows older movies once a week.  So, tonight, we’re going to see The Goonies.  Going to be fun!

Huh.

I’m almost disappointed…  We were supposed to get some kind of horrific winter storm last night.  I was expecting a rough commute in to work this morning…  But there’s absolutely nothing.  No snow on the ground, clear skies, no sign of a storm at all.

New year.  New job.  New me?

I’m not usually big on the whole “New Year’s Resolutions” thing…  Nobody really seems to take them seriously.  It’s just something to toss out as the clock is winding down.  I don’t normally even bother to come up with one.

But…

I’ve been fat for as long as I can remember.  And I’ve never been terribly happy about it.  I’m not miserable.  I don’t hate myself.  But I do kind of wish I was more fit.  More active.  More attractive.

And, lately, my weight has started affecting my health quite noticeably.  My back and neck are sore more often than not.  My left knee has started hurting, as has my right hip.  I get out of breath very easily.  And my clothes are fitting worse and worse every day.

So…

My new employer takes employee wellness very seriously.  They’ve got an in-house fitness center, complete with an assortment of classes.  There’s weekly chair massages.  There’s an in-house organic cafe, and discounts on local organic produce in the summer.  There’s incentives to get out and exercise and things like that.

I figure that if I’m ever going to be able to actually stick to a plan and lose the weight, this is it.

My New Year’s Resolution – lose the damn weight.

I just got home from work.  From my last day of work at the hospital.

Felt very weird walking out of there with nothing but my coffee cup…  I’m so used to making sure everything is locked up, and making sure I’ve got a laptop with me in case something breaks and I need to remote-in to fix something.

Received several phonecalls from co-workers today…  Got a few emails…  Ran into some folks in the hallway…  All wishing me well at my new job.  Some folks in management even stopped by to say goodbye.  It’s the folks like that, that I’ll miss.

I didn’t get my exit interview, which annoys me.  I really wanted to take the opportunity to explain what is wrong with the IT department, and why I’m moving on.  Not to be mean or burn any bridges or anything like that…  But because there are some very real, legitimate problems that will need to be fixed sooner or later.  The issues that drove me to seek employment elsewhere will do the same to anyone else who’s put in my position.

Went out to lunch with my boss.  Had a nice burger.  Talked a bit – mostly small-talk.  Chatted about the weather, family, our schooling, etc.  Kind of tried to avoid work-related stuff.  I haven’t been too careful with my words around him, so I think he’s got a half-way decent idea of why I’m leaving.  I just hope he’s able to do something about it.

So…  I’ve got a three-day weekend, and then I start my new job on Tuesday.  I really kind of wish I had more time off than that, but I am eager to get started at the new place.  Eager, and a bit nervous.  It’s always a little intimidating to start at a new job.

Yesterday was pretty nice.

Slept a bit later than usual.  Got up, had breakfast, played WoW for a while.  The rest of the family didn’t wake up until nearly Noon.  Then we opened presents…

Terri and I pooled our money and bought Christopher a new Wii and another copy of Skyward Sword – to replace the ones we bought him less than a month ago, that were stolen by his brother.  We’ll have to get him a replacement TV, too.  But that can wait a few more weeks.

I got Terri a Pinkie Pie figure, and a gift card to the Build-A-Bear workshop.  The idea is for us to take a weekend trip to Albany sometime soonish.  Spend the night, have a nice dinner, catch a show, build her a stuffed critter.  It didn’t look so impressive under the tree, but hopefully she’ll enjoy the trip.

Terri, I think, is trying to kill me with alcohol.  Tasty, tasty alcohol.

I’ve kind of acquired a stash of booze over the weeks preceding Christmas…  She got me some Guinness…  And then some Guinness Extra-Stout…  And then some Guinness Black Lager…  And I don’t drink that much, so most of that is still in the fridge.

And then she bought some Angry Orchard and some sparkling wine for the holidays.

And then, under the tree, I received a big ol’ Sam Adams Holiday Sampler box, and a bottle of Jim Beam Devil’s Cut.

After we were done with the presents, we went to see Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.  We went to see the first movie over Christmas a few years back, and I enjoyed it.  So we decided to give the sequel a try…  Thoroughly enjoyed it.

After the movie we went to a local Chinese buffet.  Normally we have a baked ham and all sorts of traditional stuff for Christmas dinner…  But this year Terri wanted Chinese – so, that’s what she got.

Got home somewhere around 5:00, played some more WoW, and then we went upstairs and watched A Ghost Story.  That movie is one of my Winter must-watch movies.  Very cold, dreary, depressing…  It just screams ”Winter” to me.  So that was fun.

I’ve got today off, so I slept late again.  Always feels weird to stay at home during the week…  Feels like I’m playing hooky or something.  It’s going to feel even weirder next week, when I’m going to work someplace entirely different.