Last week several of the attorneys were out of the office w/ a flu. I work for 3 particular attys and one of them was affected. One attorney and our paralegal decided not to call and bother her, afterall one needs to rest, both physically and mentally. The other atty decided to call her every other hour, jeez and when she couldn't get her on the phone, asked me to find her, thought she was missing or something! (This atty is the one I've mentioned again, she loses everything and we've spent hours in the past looking for her phone, checkbook, keys, wallet, etc., even to the point of cancelling payment, service, etc. -- only to discovery it was excactly where she left that particular item last, i.e., purse or car) -- she just panicks. Thus, when I would not call the ill atty, she would call and call and call! Seems the ill atty, in effort to not spread the germs to her toddler son, went to the grandmothers, took medicine, and took a much needed nap.

Today, sometime at o'dark thirty, after being sick all night, I took my temperature of 103 and left a voicemail with the HR department. I then slept off and on until 2ish. Then the phone rang, I missed the call, it was the office. I called back and it appears that the HR individual is out of the office and no one got my message until around lunch time! So I explained to HR director what I did and that my fever was down to 99 degrees. She said I sounded like I was much better, that I had not been sick at all! Gosh, I'm so embarrased, they did not get my message and I was a no show! They know I'd never do anything like that and said they thought that since I'm alone that something may have happened to me. Geez, I'm certain there was some sentiment, yet I also get the feeling HR doesn't quite believe me! I just felt awful, sore, and could barely make it from the bathroom to the kitchen. HR said they will ensure calls are forwarded so that no unheard messages are missed. Now, if I were an atty, no one would have thought anything negative and only wished for a speedy recovery! They all just assumed that either I was being deceptive or harmed.