"I think you have a problem with your brain being missing."

So. My mind is currently best described as absent. I'm not sure how you can have a cold whose chief effect is to rob you of your ability to think, but I manage it. Seriously, a little while ago I was upstairs having a mild panic attack because I could NOT picture myself, either physically or in terms of personality. And then my headache warped gravity around me, the ferry came in, and I fell asleep. And now I'm better. (Yes, I know that I sound insane, but it's a good description, I tell you.)

Being *cough* ill, this week, has reminded me of an odd feature of the food service industry. Now, maybe it's different in other places, but here fast food and other cheap purveyors of energy are staffed by low-income people. Students, single mothers, and people who for whatever reason need the money. Moreover, the people who actually stick with the job for more than two weeks, at least around here, are generally hardworking folks, who are more likely to suck it up and pop some drugs than call in sick. At McDonalds it hasn't been as bad, but at Tim's I saw several of my co-workers pull a shift, despite the fact that they were literally white and shaking. The bench mark seems to be, you don't call in unless you're running a fever over 100F, you're projectile vomiting, you have a doctor's note for incapacitating injury, or your voice is completely gone. Really, even massive coughing fits can be passed over, given that most of the staff also smokes. When you put the fact of frankly ill people continuing to work together with the fact that they are working in a food service environment, you get a good explanation for why sickness passes through town with such lighting swiftness. For instance, I served 51 cars through the drive-thru on Wednesday lunch hour. Most of those cars contained three or more people. And judging by the swiftness with which this cold ran through our family, I was quite contagious. 

*wide grin* It's interesting, isn't it?

Anyhow, Fraulein and I went for a walk yesterday. We got caught in a sudden rainstorm, and then decided as we were already as wet as possible, we weren't turning back. It was a marvelous rain, actually. Not too cold, not too warm, and just a touch of wind. So we continued on to the convenience store and bought some mark-down DVDs, including The Bourne Ultimatum. We watched it last night, and it was lovely.