It happens maybe twice a year at most, and I usually burn through it in half the time most others take. But I can always feel it coming on: slight throb when I turn my head too quick, I actually turn the fan off at work, and I feel tired but not sleepy. If I can power through the next day and a half of work, I can burn it out this weekend and save my vacation days (crap… decided to take one anyway. No sense in giving it to everyone else, although I have no idea who gave it to me).
I’ve learned that if I sit very, very still, it’s not so bad.
Time for some soups and 7-Up Sprite. You know, I can’t drink Sprite any other time, so if I think I’m sick and it tastes good to me, I’m sick.
Good thing it’s THIS weekend, too, ’cause I have plans for the next. I also start getting some trippy dreams absolutely free of charge.
Kevin A. Ranson : ThinkingSkull.com 
Hey, lets establish a timeline, for anyone who’s curious:
12pm EST – Onset. Started feeling chilly at work.
2 hours – Long-sleeved hoodie worn in Florida summer.
7 hours – Went to the store for supplies. Sat in car for a while. Sitting very still feels wonderful.
8 hours – Took Dayquil for multi-symptom (trying to see what it improves). Achy better, chills subside, no coughing to speak of, almost nothing solid in restroom.
12 hours – Did I mention moving hurts?
19 hours – Took another dose of Dayquil. Not sure that’s the best I should be taking. Fruit poptarts and Sprite for breakfast; everything stays down.
22 hours – Woke again, checked email, bach to sleep.
24 hours – Chicken noodle soup and Sprite for lunch. s’okay. Dayquil one last time.
28 hours – Started looking at symptomatic relief. Dayquil (like NyQuil) has a main ingredient of Acetaminophen (Tylenol), but the dose of about half of what straight Tylenol is.
30 hours – Switching to 1000 mg Tylenol to hit my main symptoms.
31 hours – Yep, med switch good choice. Feeling like my old self.
33 hours – Ate chicken noodle soup, thought about pizza.
36 hours – Another 1000 mg of Tylenol, and trying hard to sleep.
43 hours – It’s 7am on Saturday, and the meds should have run out hours ago, but I’m not chilly. Guessing the fever broke. Taking another 1000 mg Tylenol, taking it easy this morning.
48 hours – Decided feel well enough for a movie. Saw “Angels & Demons.”
51 hours – “A&D” WAY better than the “Da Vinci Code.” Tummy roiling; hungry? Feeling a little nippy; dropped dose to 500 mg Tylenol.
54 hours – Dinner time again. No headache, no aches at all. No solid food (aka nothing but soup) equals non-solid results (did you know that chicken noodle soup broth doesn’t change consistency after being filtered through a human body? Sorry, couldn’t resist!) So, it’s time for some real food. Missed steak night on Friday, so Saturday will have to do.
56 hours – Happily full of spicy steak and potatoes (don’t try this at home, kids; my cast-iron stomach was tempered in the mountains and trailer parks of West “by God” Virginia).
60 hours – Tired AND sleepy (once again, meat and potatoes to the rescue!) One more 500 mg Tylenol before bed, just in case.
68 hours – Awake. Bouncing off the walls. “Solid” morning (if you have to ask, don’t). Meds purged. Thirsty! And that, kids, is how you kick the flu’s butt in under 72 hours (that’s less than 3 days for you civilian types). Special thanks goes to my work supervisor for preemptively suggesting planned time off to deal with it.